The Other Bellatrix: The Philosopher's Stone
by Alelie Anyale Yeldig
Summary: Two years before the end of the first war, Voldemort tested his powers with the help of Severus Snape. Now, twelve years later, Severus has to deal with the gift his service to the Dark Lord gave him: his daughter.
1. Prologue: A Chance Encounter

The Other Bellatrix

Prologue: A Chance Encounter

On a cold night in London, a woman sat alone in a bar nursing a beer. She had been there nearly an hour, but she was still on her first drink.

The woman looked around the quiet bar. There were only three other patrons; a couple snuggling in a booth and a man sitting down the counter from her.

"Ready for another miss?" asked the bar tender for the second time that night.

The woman shook her head no as she rolled the half full bottle between her hands. She looked around again, hoping the person she was supposed to meet would show up. Looking at her watch, she sighed; it was nearly eleven.

"I'll give him five more minutes," she mumbled as her eyes closed in weariness. She had been up since five that morning, packing to go home to her family for a few months. And she still had to be up at five tomorrow to catch her flight.

Another minute passed before the door clanged open. A rush of cold air flew in, causing most of the patrons to shiver.

The woman turned to look at the door, but it was not the man she needed to see. Turning back to the bar, she threw some notes on it and got up to leave. Down the bar, the man also paid for his drinks and got up.

"Excuse me miss, but I think this belongs to you?" said man. He was tall with black hair and dark eyes, and just a bit handsome. He was holding out a green patchwork scarf with the name Delilah Auburn Darling sown into it with silver thread.

"My scarf," Delilah whispered as she carefully took it from the man's outstretched hand. "Thank you Mr.?"

"Call me Severus," the man replied, giving just a hint of a smile.

"Thank you Severus," she said again as she pulled on her jacket and her knit cap. As she put her scarf on, she felt as if she had had one too many drinks that night. Everything seemed to go slightly fuzzy.

"Perhaps I should walk you home?" Severus suggested as he pulled on his own coat. Delilah nodded and let him lead her out into the cold and down the street.

"My loft's just down this way," she managed to get out through her muddled thoughts. Severus held onto Delilah's arm as she stumbled down the road. When they finally reached her building, he insisted that he help her up the stairs. A few minutes later, they were outside her room.

"Thank you again Severus," she said as she leaned against her door. He stepped towards her and gently kissed her on her lips. Suddenly, Delilah was overcome with longing. They stood there for a few minutes, just kissing and touching each other's faces. When they finally pulled back, they were both flushed.

"Would you like to come inside?" Delilah whispered, afraid to break the spell of the kiss.

Severus nodded slowly. "Yes," he answered just as quietly as she had asked.

Delilah nodded and quickly opened her door. As soon as both of them were inside the loft, she shut the door and soon they were kissing again, only this time more passionately. Soon there activities moved to the bedroom and they went a step farther than either of them ever had.

. . . . .

Not long after Delilah had fallen asleep, Severus was up and gathering his clothing. As he pulled on the last of his clothing, he said aloud quietly, "It is done my Lord."

Soon there was a pop on the door step as someone apparated to the loft. The person opened the door that was still unlocked.

"Well done, Severus," said a gaunt looking man. He had circles beneath his eyes and looked years older than he was. The man came towards the sleeping form of Delilah. He waved around his wand while uttering indeterminable phrases. Soon a soft light appeared around the red head and then it disappeared.

The gaunt man nodded slightly as his magic finished. "Now she will never know that you were with her or that she had ever even met you." The man disapparated with a muffled pop and Severus looked around the room for Delilah's scarf.

When Severus finally found the scarf, he also found something he had not been planning on. Delilah had a wand. She was a witch!

Severus dropped the wand as if it was a snake. He quickly grabbed the scarf and disapparated to his own home in the country side.

"She wasn't supposed to be a witch," he thought aloud as he paced his living room. He still had Delilah's scarf in his hands. "She was supposed to be a muggle!" He balled up the scarf and threw it at his chair as he continued to pace. Finally he stopped pacing and just looked around his home.

"It's too late now anyway. She'll be off to America in a few hours," he concluded. He walked to the chair and grabbed the balled up scarf. He had taken it from her home in the first place because it reminded him of Slytherin and it gave him a reason to speak to her in the bar. Now he kept it so that he could remember her even though she would never remember him. He placed the scarf on his trunk. Term started in two days, so he headed upstairs to try and rest before waking up early and leaving to watch the wizarding school.

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><p><strong>Hello everyone! Sorry for missing my publishing date yesterday but I left the house really early and I didn't get back until really late and I crashed when I got home. It doesn't mean I won't try and publish every Saturday until the story is done though. Hope you enjoy it and please review, I really like to know how well this is so I can decide if it should continue past Bella's first year. Thanks!<strong>


	2. Chapter 1: A Letter

Chapter 1: A Letter

"Bella, you're gonna be late!" Delilah called down the hall to her daughter's room. She set a plate of toast and scrambled eggs on the table as her daughter made it to the table.

In between bites, Bella managed to say, "Mum, Mary isn't going to worry if we're a few minutes late."

"Yes but Ms. Jo won't be happy if you and Mary are late."

Bella sighed as she finished her toast and eggs. "Alright."

As Delilah helped Bella put on her coat, the mail slipped through the slot in the door. Bella picked the envelopes up and handed them to her mother as she pulled open the door and stopped.

"Mum, there's a cat staring at me," Bella said to her mother.

"Interesting sweetheart," she answered as she looked through the mail. "Just shoo it away."

Bella looked at the cat oddly. It seemed like it was listening to her and her mother talk.

"Do you understand what we're saying?" she asked quietly as she stepped towards the cat.

The cat nodded its head as it moved farther away from Bella and began to grow. Soon there was a tall, black haired woman standing exactly where the cat was.

"Mum! It's-she's an animagus!" Bella exclaimed as she turned around to her mother. Delilah put the mail on the table as she pulled the door open all the way to see their visitor.

"Hello. Can I help you Miss..." she trailed off as the animagus looked at Bella.

"Good day. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall," the woman introduced herself. "I am here representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. May I come in?"

Delilah stood there for a moment with her mouth open.

"Mum," Bella murmured. "Come on in," she said cheerily to the Professor. Pulling her mother's hand so that they could lead their guest into their loft, Bella tried to get her mother to say something but she was still unresponsive.

"Mum," she said while she shook her mother's hand.

"Oh, sorry," Delilah finally responded. "I'm sorry, but why are you here Professor?"

"For your daughter's education of course," McGonagall replied. "She's to go to Hogwarts."

"Bella's a witch?"

"I'm like Mum?"

"Yes Bella is a witch. You're a witch Miss Darling?" McGonagall asked.

Bella nodded her head as her mother answered. "Yah, I went to Salem Witches Institute in America when I was a kid," she paused. "I didn't think Bella would be a witch, her father was a muggle as far as I know and I've never been very talented."

"Well your daughter is a witch and Hogwarts would be glad to have her this coming term. I believe that you received a letter today with her supply list and rules," Professor McGonagall elaborated.

Bella ran back to the front door and grabbed the mail off the table. "Here it is Mum!" She ran back in waving around an envelope with her name on it. "Can I open it?"

Delilah nodded her head as Bella began carefully opening the letter.

"_Dear Miss Darling,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_ Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall _

_Deputy Headmistress_

"That's you, Professor," Bella exclaimed as she finished reading off the first page of the letter.

"Indeed. All the supplies you will need for the school year are listed on the second page," McGonagall replied. "Do you know where Diagon Alley is Miss Darling?"

"It's behind the inn place by the muggle bookshop," answered Delilah. "Is there anything else, Bella's going to be late for her play."

"Oh well, I guess not since you know what's going on," McGonagall said while shaking Delilah's hand. "See you at Hogwarts Bella," she directed to Bella.

"See you too, Professor," Bella responded as she shook her hand.

"Good bye." With that, McGonagall disappeared with a small pop.

Delilah and Bella stood there for a moment before moving at nearly the same time.

"Come on Bells," her mother said using her pet name for her daughter. "Mary's probably wondering where we got off to."


	3. Chapter 2: The Leaky Cauldron

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the late posting again. I was really sick this weekend and couldn't leave my bed to get to the main computer. Next week I will publish on Saturday. Please review. Thanks!**

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><p>Chapter 2: The Leaky Cauldron<p>

"We're almost there Bella," Delilah said as they walked down the street towards a small rundown inn/pub. They passed by a bookshop that boasted second hand and rare books. "It's just next door."

"Mum, do you think we could go in there afterwards?" Bella asked her mother as they reached the Leaky Cauldron.

Delilah looked at her daughter wondering where she meant. Bella was staring intently at the Quinto Bookshop next door to the pub/inn.

"Maybe Bells," she answered smiling at where her daughter's attention was caught. "Come on, if we hurry, we can look at the pets."

"Really?" Bella responded, pulling her attention away from the bookshop.

Going inside the pub, Bella noticed two things. One, it seemed rundown somewhat but also like it was supposed to be that way. And two, there was a huge man standing next to the counter with a young boy her age.

The boy was surrounded by people all seemingly trying to shake his hand or ruffle his hair. He didn't seem like he was completely enjoying all the attention.

"Come on dear," Delilah told her daughter as she nudged her towards the other side of the counter. Behind the counter stood a man that was going bald and, as far as Bella could tell, was toothless.

"Hello, what can I do for ya?" he asked them politely as the man and the boy disappeared through the back door.

"Do you know how to get to Diagon Alley?" Delilah asked the pub owner.

The man chuckled a bit. "Just follow Hagrid through that door over there and tap the bricks," he said as he gestured to the door the gigantic man and the boy had just disappeared through.

"Thank you," replied Delilah. She led her daughter to the door and out into a small courtyard. "Now I wonder which bricks you tap..."

Bella looked up to a spot on the wall that was missing a few bricks. She could just barely see little marks where other wizards and witches had touched the bricks with their wands.

"Mum, look," she said, pointing at the place of the missing bricks, "there's marks on the bricks around there."

Her mother looked carefully at the bricks. "You're right Bells." Delilah pulled out her wand from inside of her coat and tapped each of the bricks in a clockwise motion. Soon the bricks began moving back until an eight foot high passage way was made. And through it there was a busy alley full of numerous bustling shops.


	4. Chapter 3: Gringotts

Chapter 3: Gringotts

As Delilah and Bella stepped onto the busy street, they were astonished at how many shops could be fit onto a single small street. There were wand shops, broom shops, potions shops, and even a joke shop. But the most imposing building on the whole street was at the end.

"Excuse me, but where do we trade muggle money for wizarding money?" Delilah asked a woman sweeping up in front of her shop, even though many people were still walking by and spreading even more dirt onto the pavement.

"You just go to Gringotts, over there, and exchange it," the woman answered while pointing to the imposing building at the end of the street.

"Oh, thank you," Delilah replied as she began leading Bella into the crowd and towards Gringotts.

As they approached the building, Bella began to feel less sure about this trip.

"Mum, what's gonna be in there?" she hesitantly asked her mother.

Delilah grabbed her daughter's hand as she said, "I don't know Bella but it's probably just like the banks back home. Everything's gonna be fine."

Bella nodded as they entered the building together. Sitting at desks all along the walls were goblins. Actual goblins. Bella could not believe her eyes. And standing at what must have been the head goblins desk was the giant man from the pub along with the boy.

Now that Bella could actually see the boy in proper light, she thought he was kinda cute. He had black hair that stuck up in the back and was only a little taller than her. Soon a goblin led the boy and the huge man away through a door.

"Mum, I bet that goblin can help us," Bella suggested to her mother as she nodded at the head goblin's desk. Delilah nodded and walked towards the desk with Bella in tow.

"Excuse me," Delilah said to the goblin.

"Yes," he answered as he put down his quill.

"We were wondering where you exchange muggle money for wizard money."

The goblin let out a sigh as he gestured to a goblin at the end of the row on his right. "He does all money exchanges." The goblin went back to whatever he was working on without another glance.

"Come on Bella," Delilah said while tapping her daughter's shoulder.

They made their way back to the first desk on the head goblins right side and stopped in front of it. The goblin that occupied the desk looked younger than the head goblin and much better tempered.

"Hello," Delilah greeted cheerily. "Do you exchange muggle money for wizarding money?"

"Yes. Please place your money here and I will exchange it momentarily," the goblin responded without looking at them.

Delilah placed what she hoped would be enough money for Bella's supplies on the desk and stepped back with Bella so it did not seem like they were completely hovering. Two minutes later the goblin waved them back up.

"Here is your new currency. Come back if you ever need more or wish to obtain a vault." With that the goblin waved them away so that another girl Bella's age and her parents could get up to him.

The second Bella and her mother were outside of Gringotts, Bella said, "Can we go to the bookshop first?"

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><p><strong>Please, please, please review. And thanks for reading!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: School Shopping

Chapter 4: School Shopping

Bella and her mother walked towards the first bookshop they saw, which just happen to be called Whizz Hard Books. When Delilah and Bella walked in, the shop was only half full. All around the small shop were books with strange names having to do with all sorts of magical creatures and things of the like.

"Mum, look, here's a book on werewolves," Bella exclaimed holding a book out to her mother. "Did you know werewolves were real?"

Delilah nodded. "Your great-great-grandfather was one. But don't tell other people about that. The wizarding community here in Britain doesn't like them."

Bella thought for a moment. "Mum, can I get this book?"

Delilah smiled. "Alright, but we need to get your other books too. So what's on the list Bells?"

Bella pulled out a folded piece of paper from her back pocket. "First book on the list is _The Standard Book of Spells_ (grade one). Where do you think that is?" she asked while looking around.

"Let's go ask the clerk. Grab a basket for your books too," her mother replied as she began walking towards the counter.

Bella grabbed a basket and caught up to her mother at the counter just as the clerk came over to his new customers.

"Welcome to Whizz Hard Books! What can I find for you today?" he asked with just a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Hello, we need to get, um, Bella?" Delilah tried to respond but turned to Bella.

"We need _The Standard Book of Spells_ (grade one)," Bella answered politely.

The clerk nodded his head. "Hogwarts first year, yah?" Bella nodded her head. "Then you'll be needing all the other books on that list of yours," he said as he began grabbing different types of books off of the shelves all around the shop. After about five minutes, he had gathered together eight different books that covered her whole list. "For the purchase of every five books, you get one free book. You look like you might play Quidditch, so I thought you might enjoy this," the clerk stated as he handed Bella another book not on her list. It was titled _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

"Mum, can I get this one too?" she begged her mother.

"Oh, alright, but now we can get two free books."

Bella smiled. "Is there any fairytale books?"

The clerk smiled. "I've got just the thing." He disappeared behind a stack of books and came back with one book in hand. "This is _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_. It's got six stories in it that every wizarding child should know." The clerk looked back at Delilah. "Will that be everything Miss?"

"I think so. Thank you for finding these, I don't think we would have ever found them on our own," she said as she handed him enough money to cover all the books. "Thanks again," Delilah called as they left the shop carrying the paper wrapped books.

"Okay, where to next missy?" Delilah asked her daughter.

"How about a wand?" she replied.

"Sounds good. I think I saw a wand shop... there!" her mother pointed to a shop with a sign above it saying Ollivander's Wand Shop. "Come on, this is the best part."

As Delilah and Bella entered the wand shop, the latter noticed the thin layer of dust on everything. Then there was a soft thump as something landed on the ground.

"Hello," said a thin, older man. His hair was all grey and white and he had kind, silvery eyes.

"Hello," Bella replied. "I'm here to get a wand," she continued, smiling.

"Yes, yes, come closer and I'll see what I can find for you." The man disappeared into the columns of wand boxes. Soon he returned with a few boxes.

"Let's try this one," he suggested as he handed Bella an intricately carved oak wand. "Just give it a wave and see what happens."

Bella barely moved it but as soon as she did, all the papers on the store owner's desk flew into the air.

"No, not quite right. Hm, let's see... What's your name?" he asked Bella suddenly.

"Everyone calls me Bell," she replied.

"Is that your full name, Bell?"

Bella looked at her mother. She responded by nodded her head towards the store owner.

Bella sighed. "My name is Bellatrix."

The man seemed to tense for a single moment when she said this but the next moment he was normal again.

"I believe I have just the wand for you," he murmured as he rushed back into the columns of wands. "Perhaps, since you share your names and looks, you will also share your wands," he whispered so that no one else could hear. A minute later, he reappeared with a closed box.

"Here we are, I think this one will be perfect," he said as he removed the wand from the box and held it out to Bella. It was a simple wand made from ash wood. Reaching just over a foot long, it had a slight curve to it that made it beautiful in Bella's opinion.

As soon as she took it in her hand, Bella knew this wand was hers. It felt warm and when she waved it, a rush of air flew around her comfortingly.

"Whoa," she whispered as the gust died away.

"And now you have found a wand, or rather the wand has found you," the old man chuckled. "Let's ring it up and then you can be on your way for the rest of your school things."

. . . . .

"Mum, can we look at the animals now that I've got my robes," Bella asked as they neared the Magical Menagerie. "Please can we just look?"

Delilah thought about it a moment. The store did not look too busy and Bella had already said she did not need a pet. "Alright, but only for a few minutes."

"Yes!" Bella rejoiced as she hurried into the store and began looking around excitedly.

Every wall of the store was full of cages, all the way up to the ceiling. There were snails, cats, rats, ravens, and so much more. Bella was soon lost in the area full of cats. There was one cat in particular that seemed to stare at her just Professor McGonagall had when she was a cat.

"Hello," she said to the black cat. "What's your name?"

Suddenly the store owner appeared behind her. "Be careful of that one. She's not nice to strangers."

"Oh," Bella said. "She seems really nice right now. What's her name?"

"Baghera," the owner answered with an accompanying hiss from the cat.

"But that's a boy cat's name," Bella stated as the cat stopped hissing and looked at Bella again. "Shouldn't she have a nice girl's name?"

"That's for the cat's owner to decide. I just watch her until someone adopts her." With that the store owner left to see another customer wishing to adopt a bat.

"What did you find Bella?" Delilah asked as she came up to her daughter.

Bella petted the cat's nose. "A beautiful black cat, but she needs a proper name," Bella answered as Delilah also petted the cat's nose and got a purr from her.

"I agree she's a beautiful cat but we have to go sweetie. It's almost five."

Bella nodded her head sadly and whispered to the cat, "I've gotta go but I'll be back again sometime." Bella picked up her books from where she had set them down and walked to the store front with her mother. "Do you think we could adopt her next time, Mum?" Bella asked as they stepped out onto the busy alley.

"I think maybe we could," her mother answered as they reached the entrance to Diagon Alley. "We'll just have to see if she's there then."


	6. Chapter 5: Platform 9 and 34

Chapter 5: Platform 9 and 3/4

"Bella, it's almost ten forty; we need to leave now!" Delilah called to her daughter as she put Bella's trunk in the car. As she shut the trunk, Bella came rushing out of the house holding onto two of her books and her shoulder pack.

"Mum, can I have the keys?" Bella asked as she shut the door.

Delilah tossed the house key to Bella who caught it with ease. Soon they were on the road to King's Crossing Station.

"You've got your ticket, right?" Delilah said as they parked at the train station.

"Yeah Mum," Bella answered as she climbed out of the car and tried to grab out her trunk.

"Bella, go shut your door," Delilah told her as she gave up on getting her trunk out. As Bella shut her door, her mother pulled out the trunk and put it on a trolley that was close by.

"Alrighty, let's go find your train," Delilah said as they headed into the station.

Bella stayed close to her mother as they hurried through the busy train station. As they passed a column between platforms nine and ten, a redheaded woman and redheaded girl passed right into it.

"Mum, I think we go through there," Bell suggested to her mother. As they both looked at the column, a blond haired boy and his parents went through the column too.

Soon Bella and Delilah had turned around and had gone through the column as well. On the other side was a whole other platform, hidden from muggles by magic. The train on the platform looked as if it was powered by steam but Delilah guessed it was actually run with magic.

"Mum, this is amazing!" Bella exclaimed as she grabbed her mother's hand.

Delilah had to admit that this was absolutely spectacular compared to Salem Witches Institute; to get there you had to either drive yourself or floo directly there. Suddenly a loud whistle sounded from the front of the train, effectively interrupting Delilah's thoughts.

"Five minutes until departure!" called the conductor.

The crowd on the platform began to disperse as parents and students said their final good-byes and the latter boarded the train. Bella and Delilah followed other late arrivals to the back of the train and dropped off Bella's trunk. Then they moved back so other students could stow their trunks.

Suddenly Delilah pulled Bella into a warm hug. "Oh Bells, I hope you have a brilliant first year," she said as she pulled back. She brushed some of Bella's stray raven black curls out of her daughter's blue eyes. "I love you sweetheart," Delilah whispered as she lightly kissed her daughter's forehead.

"I love you too Mum," Bella replied as she hugged her mother again.

After a few moments, they pulled apart and Delilah pushed Bella towards the train.

"Bye sweetheart. See you at Christmas!" Delilah called as Bella and a few other stragglers boarded the train and it began to leave the station.

"Bye Mum!" Bella answered as she was swept into the moving column of students trying to find seats in the train compartments.


	7. Chapter 6: The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 6: The Hogwarts Express

The train had been on its way for a while when Bella finally found a compartment with an open seat.

"Hello," she said as she stuck her head in. "Is this seat taken?"

Inside the compartment were three boys and one girl. Two of the boys were big and beefy and were flanking the third boy in their seats. The girl seemed to have a permanent sneer on her face. The third boy finally answered and Bella noted that he was the same blond haired boy she had seen getting to the platform.

"I guess," he answered in a bored tone.

Bella nodded in thanks as she took the closest seat to the door that also happened to be the furthest seat from the sneering girl.

"What's your name?" the girl asked her.

"Bell Darling," Bella answered.

"Pansy Parkinson," the girl replied while holding her hand out. As Bella shook Pansy's hand, the blond haired boy decided to bring the attention back to himself.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he announced. He did not offer Bella his hand, and when Bella offered her hand, he merely ignored it.

"So what house are you hoping for?" Pansy asked everyone in the compartment.

All three of the boys chuckled at her question while Bella just looked at Pansy strangely.

"Oh come on Pansy, you know we'll all be in Slytherin," Draco said once he had stopped laughing.

"I was asking her," Pansy answered Malfoy while gesturing at Bella.

Bella swallowed and was about to answer when the compartment door slid open. Standing in the doorway was a girl Bella's age with frizzy brown hair and slightly bucked teeth.

"Have any of you seen a toad?" the girl asked everyone in the compartment.

Draco and Pansy sneered while the other two boys seemed to be trying to process the girl's words.

"Why would anyone bring a toad?" Pansy asked snidely. "Oh wait, is it yours?"

The girl frowned at Pansy's question. "No, a boy in my compartment lost it and asked me to help him find it," she answered in a calm tone. "If any of you see it, please give it to a boy named Neville Longbottom."

At the sound of the boy's name everyone in the compartment except Bella chuckled. Even the two slower boys managed to laugh at the girl's words.

"If we do happen to find it, we'll be sure to let you know," Draco said in a tone that suggested otherwise.

"Do you need help looking?" Bella asked hoping she could get away from Draco and Pansy. She had a feeling that they were not the right people to be around if she wanted friends she could count on.

As if she was reading Bella's mind, the girl nodded. "Actually, yah. Neville would probably like it if you helped too."

As Bella left the compartment, she said, "Um, thanks for the talk."

Bella and the girl continued along the train looking in every compartment until they came to one with two boys. One of the boys was getting ready to perform magic on his rat while the other one was watching and eating what looked to be an assortment of candy. The boy that was trying to turn his rat yellow had red hair and freckles adorned his face like ornaments on a Christmas tree. The other boy was the same dark haired boy Bella had seen in Gringotts.

"Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost his," the girl asked the two boys as Bella hung back. Both of the boys replied no as the girl began talking again. "Are you doing magic? Let's see it."

Both boys shrugged to each other as the red haired boy began his spell.

"Sunshine daisies, butter, mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" the red headed boy said in a rush. The rat did not turn yellow not even as if it had too much sugar.

"That's not proper magic you know. I've been learning some basic spells but nothing to special," the girl said as she walked into the compartment and Bella followed her.

"Oh yah, like what?" the red haired boy challenged.

The girl shrugged her shoulders slightly as she drew her wand and pointed it at the dark haired boy. "Oculus Reparo," she commanded. The moment she finished the spell, the dark haired boy's glasses repaired themselves and lost the bit of tape that was on them.

The red haired boy stopped chewing his sweets and the dark haired boy took off his glasses and looked at them.

"I'm Hermione Granger by the way," the girl said to the boys and Bella.

"Harry Potter," the dark haired boy answered. "What's your name?" he asked Bella.

Bella blushed as she tried to answer. "Bell..."

Harry smiled at her as Hermione asked the red haired boy his name.

"Ron Weasley," he answered with chewed up sweets in his mouth still.

"Charmed," Hermione replied. "You two should really change into your robes, I suspect we'll be arriving soon," she continued as she stood up and Bella followed suit. Hermione turned around in the door way and commented to Ron, "You've got dirt, just there," as she rubbed her nose.

Bella waved good bye as she exited the compartment, not trusting her voice not to squeak.

Soon the girls had searched each compartment and found no sign of Neville's toad. They were heading back to Hermione's compartment when they passed Draco's compartment.

"Um, Hermione, can I go with you?" Bella asked hesitantly. "Draco's kinda a jerk."

Hermione nodded. "Sure, we've got room in our compartment. And you need to change into your robes too."

Bella nodded. "Is this your first year?"

"Yah, I can't wait, can you?" Hermione exclaimed happily. "I didn't even know about magic until Professor McGonagall visited."

"She visited you too?" Bella asked as they came to Hermione's compartment.

Hermione nodded again as she said, "A teacher always has to visit new students if they've never heard of magic. Both my parents are muggles, so she had to visit and explain things to us. So that means your parents are muggles too?"

"Well, my father might be but I don't even know him and Mum's an American witch so the school didn't know about her," Bella answered. "What's a muggle?"

Hermione smiled. "That's just a term for people that can't do magic," she responded as she pulled open the compartment door.

"Did anyone know where Trevor was?" A fair haired boy asked Hermione.

"Sorry Neville. No one's seen him," Hermione answered as she sat down. "This is Bell," she continued as Bella sat down next to Neville.

"Hi," Bella greeted him as another boy in the compartment looked up.

"Hello, I'm Jared," the boy said as he nudged the sleeping boy between him and Hermione.

"Huh, what?" the boy mumbled as he woke up. "Oh, hi," he said once he focused on Bella. "I'm Dustin. Um, who're you?"

"Bell," Bella answered smiling at his behavior.

"Well, Bell, hey that rhymed!" Dustin exclaimed to Jared. Jared nodded his head, urging him to finish his thought. When Dustin did not continue, Jared sighed.

"You were saying something?" he implored to Dustin.

"Oh, I was saying that she still needs to get into her robes because we'll definitely be there soon," Dustin finished in a rush.

"Oh, right," Bella said as she grabbed her bag off the floor. "Um, is there somewhere to change?" she directed at Hermione.

"There's a lavatory at the front of the cart," she answered.

Bella stood up and exited the compartment as she said thanks. She returned a few minutes later to Dustin and Jared trying to wrestle on the floor of the compartment while Hermione and Neville just pulled their legs up onto the seats.

"Hey Bell!" they both managed to say at the same time.

They immediately pulled apart so that Bella could take her seat again. Once Bella had taken her seat, they continued their wrestling. Bella had just enough time to pull up her legs as they rolled around even more.

"I swear, you two are complete barbarians," Hermione commented to the boys.

"Thank-you!" they both answered in unison, much to the dismay of Hermione.

"I hope we get there soon," she murmured as she looked out the window and at the sunset.


	8. Chapter 7: The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 7: The Sorting Ceremony

When the Hogwarts Express finally arrived at Hogsmeade Station, both Jared and Dustin were sporting bruises, although Dustin managed to give Jared more than he received.

As Bella stepped off the train with her new friends, the gigantic man that she had seen with Harry in Gringotts called to all the first years.

"Over here! First years, over here!" he said while waiving Bella and her friends over.

"Hello Hagrid," Harry greeted the giant as most of the first years found their way to him. Hagrid smiled in reply to Harry as he continued to call over the last few first years.

"Alright, follow me to the boats," Hagrid told the new students as he turned and began walking towards the lake shore.

Almost all the first years had to jog or, at the very least, fast walk to keep up with the giant. When they all reached the shore, Hagrid told the students to get in groups of five or six for each boat. Once all the students were in the boats, they began moving of their own accord. Bella had managed to get in a boat with Jared and Dustin along with two other students. As they neared the castle, most of the students let out gasps of amazement, including Bella.

The castle was the largest castle Bella had ever seen in her school books. It had towering spires that reached towards the star and moon lit sky. Surrounding it were tall mountains covered in forests that seemed quite ominous.

"Wonder what's in the woods?" Bella heard Jared ask Dustin in a whisper.

"Don't know, but we'll find out," Dustin replied with a smile.

"It's probably not safe, you know," Bella cut in. "There's most likely all sorts of dark things out there that could and would kill you."

At Bella's words Dustin paled while Jared seemed to get more excited.

"That makes it even cooler," Jared said.

Before Bella could reply, Dustin took a hand full of water and splashed Jared with it.

"Hey!" Jared protested, but before he could retaliate, the boats arrived on the shore below Hogwarts.

"Alright first years, we'll walk from here and then you'll get sorted," Hagrid told the students as they disembarked. He then turned towards the castle and began walking up the slight incline to the castle. Everyone had to jog to keep up with him this time.

"You'd think the great oaf would slow down for his charges," Bella heard Draco nastily whisper to someone she could not see in the crowd.

"And you'd think someone that thinks himself so great would be willing to let our guide hear what he has to say," Bella whispered harshly to Draco before she could have second thoughts.

Draco gave her a pointed look but did not utter anymore complaints while Bella was nearby.

When the group reached the castle doors, they opened of their own accord and Hagrid ushered all the students in and up a single flight of stairs. At the top they came across a teacher that Bella recognized instantly.

"Hello Professor," she greeted cheerily. Professor McGonagall nodded back as she looked at the group of students in front of her.

"The first years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," she replied as she looked over the group and Hagrid left.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smart yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting," she finished as she watched some of the students straighten their robes, or in Harry's case, flatten their hair some.

"I will return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall continued. "Please wait quietly."

She left through the large doors behind her. Then everyone started hushed conversations. Bella did not join in, preferring to listen and maybe add her own comment every now and again.

"So it's true then?" Draco suddenly said over the many conversations, successfully hushing all the other students. "Harry Potter's come to Hogwarts?"

Suddenly, everyone began speaking at once about Harry being at Hogwarts. Bella just looked around wondering what the big deal could possibly be.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Draco said to Harry.

Ron snorted at Draco's name from Harry's side.

"You think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are," Draco sneered in reply. "Red hair, freckles, and hand-me-down robes; you must be a Weasley." He turned back to Harry as he finished berating Ron. "You'll find that some wizarding families are better than other, and you don't want to go making friends with the wrong ones. I can help you there," he finished smugly while holding out his hand to Harry in friendship.

Harry just looked at him and then at Ron. "I think I can tell for myself, thanks," he answered politely.

Before Draco could reply to Harry's rebuttal, Professor McGonagall came back to the group of students.

"Move along now," she ordered the first years as she opened the doors to an immense hall. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."

As Bella and the other first years made their way to the front of the hall, they all looked around at the older students sitting at four large tables. At the front of the hall was another large table full of other professors. In front of that table was a stool with an old hat set upon it.

When all the new students had gathered at in front of the stool, the hat came alive and began to sing.

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folks use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_S__o put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

By the end of the hat's song, Bella was flabbergasted as were any other students that did not have older siblings or parents that had attended the school.

"Did that hat just talk?" she asked Dustin who just happened to be next to her.

"Actually, it sang," he replied as Professor McGonagall stepped up next to the stool and the hat.

"Now, when I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said as she pulled out a scroll. "Hannah Abbott."

And so it went that one student had been put into Gryffindor (Lavender Brown), three students had been put in Ravenclaw (Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Michael Corner), two students had been put into Hufflepuff (Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones), and two students had been put into Slytherin (Millicent Bulstrode and Vincent Crabbe) when Bella was called up to be sorted.

"Bellatrix Darling," said Professor McGonagall. One of the teachers at the staff table perked up at Bella's name but Bella did not notice in her hurry to get up to the stool and get the sorting over with.

As the hat was placed on her head, Bella heard the hat begin whispering to her.

"Hm... plenty smart but not quite a Ravenclaw, no, not a Ravenclaw." The hat seemed to be debating with itself on where to put Bella. "There's loyalty yes, and bravery, but so much cunning... And such a thirst to prove yourself too! Maybe even to him... Yes, that's where you should be, just like him," the hat trailed off mysteriously.

"Like who?" Bella tried to ask the hat but the tattered thing ignored her.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted to the great hall.

The Slytherin table began clapping as Bella took off the hat and began walking solemnly towards her house. When she reached the table, she avoided looking at her house mates in preference of watching the rest of the sorting ceremony.

After another student was sorted into Slytherin, Dustin was called up and the hat took longer on his head than it had on Bella's but in the end it placed him in Ravenclaw, much to the Slytherin table's displeasure. After Dustin, four more students were sorted before Hermione came up to be sorted. Once again the hat took a bit of time but eventually decided she was best fit for Gryffindor. Another four students were sorted after that and then Neville was sorted. As the hat proclaimed Neville as a Gryffindor, he ran off with the hat still on his head and had to bring it back up, completely red in the face.

The rest of the sorting passed without notable incidence except when Draco, Harry, Jared, and Ron were sorted.

When the hat was placed on Draco's head, there was barely a moment's breath before the hat proclaimed him a Slytherin. The Slytherin table erupted in more applause, along with one of the teachers at the staff table, as Draco hurried to his table.

After a few more people were sorted along with a set of twins, Harry was called up. The entire great hall went silent as he stepped up to the stool and Professor McGonagall place the sorting hat on his head. The sorting hat took the longest on Harry, as if it kept trying to persuade Harry he was best for a certain house but Harry kept opposing the decision. Finally, the hat placed him in Gryffindor and Harry leapt off the stool happily.

Right after Harry was Jared. The hat did the oddest thing with him. Just as it had done with Draco, the hat tried to say Jared's house as soon as it was placed on his head. But it stopped as soon as it began to say Slytherin. Soon a silent argument raged between the hat and Jared as the hat continued to try and put him in Slytherin and Jared argued that he was better off elsewhere. After a minute the hat gave in and looked to see which house he was better off in. After a moment's hesitation, the house shouted Ravenclaw for the whole hall to hear.

After Jared was sorted, two more people were sorted and then Ron was called up. The hat seemed unhappy that Ron was "another Weasley" and so it placed him in Gryffindor.

Finally, there was only one student left and he was placed in Slytherin. And so the sorting was finished.

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><p><strong>AN: And so they were all sorted. I hope you like how I sorted some of the characters, specifically Jared and Dustin cause they weren't mine to sort. If you can guess who the hat was telling Bella about, you get a preview of next week's first chapter, first five people only.**


	9. Chapter 8: Blood Ties

**A/N: Sorry about missing the update date but I was out of the house most of Saturday and then the computer got a virus so I had to go through and save everything. Hope you guys can forgive me. Maybe these chapters will make it up to you?**

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><p>Chapter 8: Blood Ties<p>

The new students were given a few minutes to talk to their new house mates before an elderly man stood up at the staff table.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" the old man started. His odd words were met by snickers from all across the hall, especially at the Slytherin table. When he continued though, the entire hall was silent again. "To our newcomers," he said in a ringing voice, stretching his hands wide with a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old hands, welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, and this is not it. Tuck in!"

With that, everyone began eating as food magically appeared on the plates in front of them. Everyone began having conversations and trying to talk over each other so that the noise level rose. Bella just ate a small amount of food, not particularly hungry. Next to her, her house mates from her year were discussing blood. It was enough to make Bella stop eating completely and wish she could sit elsewhere.

"Of course I'm a pure-blood. Why else would I be in Slytherin?" Draco said to an older boy that looked to be fifteen or sixteen. "All of my family has been in Slytherin too, so I had to be here."

Bella slowly became interested in the conversation as everyone of the first announced to the table that they were also pure bloods and their entire families had been in Slytherin before them.

"How about you Bellatrix?" the older boy next to Draco asked Bella suddenly.

Bella looked around at all their faces. While she didn't want to lie, telling the truth in this instance may not have been a completely good idea, but she decided to use the truth.

"It's Bell. Mum's a pure blood but I don't know about my father," Bella answered slowly as some of her house mates looked at her slightly confused.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Pansy asked from beside her.

"I don't know who my father is. He could be a muggle for all my Mum and I know," Bella stated. She looked at her hands in her lap as the rest of the table looked away from her and began talking amongst themselves without Bella again.

The rest of the feast passed without Bella joining into any more of the conversations. No one tried to start any conversations with her either. Suddenly Bella wished she had been put in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw with all her friends rather than Slytherin.

When the feast finally concluded, all the students were dismissed and followed the older students to the houses separate common rooms.

Bella was able to say a quick good-bye to Jared and Dustin as they passed each other on the way out of the great hall. Dustin smiled at her as he said good-bye while Jared looked at her in sympathy as he waved.

Bella and the other Slytherin first years were led down a few corridors and into the dungeons. There they followed the older boy that had been talking with Malfoy down more corridors until they came to a cellar. The students were led to the back wall of the cellar where the older boy said aloud a word.

"Pure-blood," he said. As he said the word like it was a command, the wall began moving like the entrance to Diagon Alley. Soon all the students had piled into the grand room.

Bella observed that the room was furnished as if it were a palace but at the same time, there was a cold feeling to the room.

"Before you all go to your dorms, Professor Snape will be down here to give you all a lecture on our house rules." The older boy looked around at everyone, daring them to say something out of turn. "Wait here and don't do anything until you are told you can." With that, the boy headed towards a door that Bella assumed led to his shared dormitory.

A few minutes passed in which Bella was able to look around the common room. Again she noticed that there was a cold, emotionless feeling to the room that everyone either ignored or embraced. This feeling was intensified when the wall to the cellar open again.

Bella looked at the man as he walked in. He was tall with black greasy hair and a large nose that looked as if it had been broken a few times. He looked as if he had a permanent sneer on his face just as Pansy had on the train.

"I am Professor Snape," he started in a bored tone. "I am your head of house and as such I have certain rules that you will all follow." He paused while he let his words sink in. When he continued, his tone was more ordering. "The first rule is you will always behave yourselves and any misbehavior will be rewarded with fierce punishments given by myself. The second rule is, as you are all first years, you will have a different curfew than the older students along with a strict lights out. You must be in the common room or your dormitories by nine thirty and be asleep by ten. I expect full cooperation with the older students and all your teachers. That is the third rule; absolute respect for authority."

Once again, Professor Snape paused to let his words sink in. "Now go to your dormitories. It is nearly ten and classes start tomorrow." As soon as he finished speaking, all the students except Bella began heading towards their dormitories.

"Professor?" Bella started. "What about our belongings?"

Snape sighed. "They are already in your dormitory. I assumed that your parents would have shared such knowledge with you before starting here."

"Oh, um, thank you sir," Bella hurriedly said as she hastily turned away towards where Pansy and Millicent were going. "Good night sir," Bella said as she disappeared into the dormitory with her housemates.

It took Bella and her house mates barely ten minutes to be in their pajamas and in their beds waiting for the lights to go out.

"So Bell, what were you talking to Professor Snape for?" Millicent asked from the bed beside Bella's.

"I was just wondering where our trunks were," Bella answered as she read her book on Quidditch. Bella heard Pansy snort from across the room.

"Didn't your mum tell you about Hogwarts at all?" Daphne said from between Pansy's and Bella's beds.

Bella closed up her book and hid it under her pillow as she answered. "Mum's American. She went to Salem Witch's Institute in Massachusetts," Bella yawned. "We'd never heard of Hogwarts before a month ago."

Before anyone could reply, all the lights in the dormitory went out with a small pop.

"Night everyone," Bella yawned as she closed her eyes for the night and blocked out the other girls by clearing her mind.


	10. Chapter 9: First Day Of Term

Chapter 9: First Day of Term

Bella awoke before the rest of her house mates at ten after six and was washed and dressed by the time anyone else was even awake. When she was allowed out of the common room just over an hour later, she went straight to the great hall with her book bag and began reading while she waited for the rest of the students to awaken and arrive for breakfast. About fifteen minutes later, Jared and Hermione showed up in the great hall, along with most of the Ravenclaws.

"Hey," Bella said as she met them at the door.

"Hey yourself," Jared replied teasingly while Hermione just mumbled a distracted hello as her nose was in the potions book again.

"Hermione, haven't you read that one twice?" Bella asked when none of them moved to their respective tables.

"Hm? Oh, yah. I just wanted to be prepared; it's the first class today," Hermione answered as she continued to read the inch thick book.

Bella shrugged her shoulders at Jared. "Did you know the food appears even when you're the only one at the table?" she asked him as Hermione moved to sit at the nearly empty Gryffindor table.

Jared nodded, "Yah, Mother told me that when she was giving me advice." Jared suddenly looked very downcast. "I still have to tell her I'm in Ravenclaw..."

Jared sulked away leaving Bella alone at the door as more students came into the hall. Bella left the great hall just before her class mates from her house arrived.

Bella wondered around the school for the next hour. She memorized where all her classes were and even managed to find a short cut to Transfiguration. At fifteen minutes to the bell, Bella found herself waiting patiently outside the potions classroom.

No one else had arrived yet and the dungeon corridor was quiet. Bella pulled out the only one of her books she had read more than once: _Hairy Snout, Human Heart_.

Suddenly, there was an ominous shadow looming over Bella. She looked up to see none other than her head of house.

"Professor Snape!" she squeaked as she scooted a bit away from him.

"What are you doing out here?" he demanded of Bella.

"I-I-I was waiting for class to start," Bella answered quietly, wondering if there was a rule to sitting outside of a teacher's classroom.

Abruptly, Snape turned away and headed inside his classroom. "Then you should be in here, Miss Darling, not in the freezing corridor."

Bella scrambled after Professor Snape, nearly forgetting her book in her haste. As Bella came into the classroom, she noticed many bottled potions along the walls, but no potions on the tables.

As Bella moved to sit down, she remembered what certain places meant in Muggle schools: you sit in the back, you thought you were cool while the teachers thought you were lazy; you sit in the front, the teacher knew you were hard working while the other students thought you were a teacher's pet. Bella chose to sit in the front.

As she sat down, Bella took out her book again and began reading it.

"What are you reading?" Snape snapped from his desk.

Bella looked at him wondering why he would care what she read. "It's a book about a werewolf. It's quite interesting, Sir," Bella answered.

"You should be going over your potions book for class," he replied.

Bella looked away. _Of course he would want me to be reading that_, she berated herself. Bella obediently pulled out her potions book and put away her favorite book. She began mindlessly thumbing through the text, already knowing what she was reading.

"Why aren't you reading it?" Professor Snape demanded.

Bella looked up again. The Muggle teachers never realized she wasn't reading the subject when she did this at home. "Sorry sir, it's just I've already read it you see and, well..." she trailed off as she looked at her teacher shyly.

"You've read it?" he said in a tone that suggested he thought otherwise.

Bella nodded. "Yes sir."

The teacher pondered this for a moment. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" he asked out of the blue.

Bella started at the quizzing but she immediately knew the answer. "The Draught of Death," she answered quietly.

"Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" he asked as soon as she had the answer out of her mouth.

Bella closed her eyes as she remembered the answer from her textbook. "The belly of a goat, Sir."

"And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Bella opened her eyes. "They're the same plant sir. And they're used to make a wolfsbane potion to help werewolves retain their human thoughts during full moons," she added as she remembered the passage from _Hairy Snout, Human Heart_.

Professor Snape nodded his head. "Very good, Miss Darling," he said as he looked towards the door. "Your classmates should be arriving soon and I suggest you prepare to be teased for being here before you had to be," he finished in a tone that wasn't quite as bored as he had used the night before.

"Yes sir," Bella replied as she pulled out her quill and some parchment. She bit her lip as she tried to remember how to hold her quill before anyone else came in and saw her struggling.

"What are you doing Miss Darling?" Snape inquired from her side.

Bella let out a gasp as he scared her. "I-I-I'm trying to remember how to hold my quill sir," she responded as she tried not to jump from her seat. "It's... difficult."

The professor sighed. "Come by my classroom after lunch today and I will help you," he turned towards the door without another word as the sounds of incoming students could be heard. Bella sighed in relief.

Soon the classroom was full of the other Slytherin first years and the Gryffindor first years. Hermione sat next to Bella while Harry sat next to her with Ron beside him.

Snape started the class with a lecture that essentially told everyone that he would take no nonsense in his classroom. Immediately after his lecture he began attacking Harry with the same questions he had asked Bella before class started. Only Hermione raised her hand to answer the question while Harry answered that he knew none of the answers. By the end of the class, Gryffindor had lost ten points and Professor Snape had assigned an essay a foot long on all the potions ingredients that he had named off to Harry due the next time they had potions, which happened to be in two days.

After Potions ended, everyone hurried to Defence Against the Dark Arts. No incidents happened in that class except for Harry constantly rubbing his forehead whenever Professor Quirrel turned his back on the class. After class finished, everyone went to lunch with the rest of their houses. After lunch, most of Bella's potions classmates began working on their potions while she headed down to the dungeons classroom.

Bella knocked on the door as she pushed it open slowly. "Professor?" she greeted while she walked in and sat where she had been in class.

"Ah, glad to see you came, Miss Darling," Snape said as he walked out from a closet with a jar of herbs in his hand. "Just take out a quill, ink, and parchment."

Bella nodded as she took out what he asked. She began to unstopper her ink well but stopped when Snape sat in the seat next to her.

"No ink yet. First you must be able to hold your quill so that it doesn't smear or make your ink run," he insisted.

He gently took Bella's hand and moved her fingers so that she was holding her quill perfectly for writing but not uncomfortably. After practicing picking up and putting down her quill with minimal corrections from her teacher, Bella began using ink and practicing her writing with the quill. Bella ended up writing her whole essay under the watchful gaze of Professor Snape.

While Bella continued to practice, even after she had written her essay, Snape began tending to his few brewing potions. After a while, the sound of scratching on parchment was replaced by silence. Snape turned around to see Bella watching him intensely. When Bella noticed her teacher had noticed her observing his actions, she hurriedly began writing again.

"Miss Darling, come here a moment," he told her in an even tone. Bella silently moved to stand next to him in front of his potion. He returned to tending his potion but made sure Bella could see exactly what he was doing the whole time.

The rest of the afternoon passed with Bella watching, and even helping, Professor Snape prepare his potion. When it was nearing the time for dinner, he dismissed her to go clean up and then not be late for dinner.

As Bella left the classroom, she smiled at Snape and even received the tiniest hint of a smile in return. Professor Snape was definitely her favorite teacher at Hogwarts.

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><p><strong>AN: So there's Bella's first encounters with her father. Please tell me if I'm writing Snape too out of character. That's one of the things I'm really afraid of in this story. Until next Saturday (I promise, cross my heart and hope to die) my readers and reviewers. And thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far. It really awesome to see alerts for reviews in your e-mail.**

**And Mel, I'm sorry but you reviewed after I was supposed to publish and you weren't logged in for your review so I couldn't send you the preview. To anyone that reviews before Saturday, I will give you a short sneak peak at the next chapter as long as you sign in. Night everyone!**


	11. Chapter 10: Flying Class

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Or if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, happy weekend! I forgot to put a disclaimer on the beginning of the story and while this isn't the full disclaimer (that's on my profile), I felt I should tell everyone I don't own almost all the characters in this story. I only claim Bella and Delilah as my own characters while Jared Recoff is JermiaSmith's character, Dustin Fidelius is my other brother's character, and Davidella Jones is Kbinnz's character. I hope you all enjoy these two chapter and please review!**

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><p>Chapter 10: Flying Class<p>

The next three days of classes were about the same as the first. The next time they had potions, only half the class managed to turn in their essays. Professor Snape assigned an extra essay for anyone that didn't hand in an essay that met the length requirement or none at all.

Bella found that she did not enjoy Charms or History of Magic like she enjoyed her other classes. Transfiguration became one of her favorite classes, mostly due to her having it after Charms both of the days she had it and after History of Magic as well on one of those days.

Thursday was the first day that everyone in Bella's year had flying. Madame Hooch started the class by having everyone step up to the left side of a broom. Then she instructed the class to will the brooms to them by placing their right hands over the brooms and saying up.

Harry was the first one to gain his broom. Two ups later, Malfoy also had his broom in hand. Hermione and Neville were the last two to get their brooms up, while Jared and Dustin got them at the same time right after Malfoy. Bella was in the middle, along with Ron, but Ron would have had his sooner if it had not smacked him in the face instead of going to his hand the first time.

Soon everyone was kicking off from the ground, albeit unsteadily for most of them. Malfoy and Harry were easily the best flyers with Dustin and Jared right behind them. But soon tragedy struck: Neville fell from his broom and broke his wrist when he made contact with the ground.

Everyone was instructed to land and stay on the ground while Madame Hooch took Neville to the Hospital Wing.

"Hey, look what the fat lump dropped!" Draco called to all the remaining students. He was holding up a clear ball that was filled with white smoke. "Maybe next time it'll help him remember to fall on his big, fat arse." Everyone in Slytherin snickered at his comment except Bella.

"Give it here Malfoy!" Harry demanded as he stepped towards Draco menacingly. All Draco did in retaliation was hop on his broom and ascend into the sky. Harry immediately followed after him even though Hermione told him it was a stupid idea.

Bella watched, along with the rest of the class, as Draco and Harry argued in the air and then suddenly Harry was flying away from Draco and towards the side of the castle as fast as the school broom could carry him. At the last minute, Harry turned around and began waving his arm around triumphantly as he glided back to his classmates.

When Harry reached the ground, everyone could see that he was holding Neville's rememberall, unshattered and completely intact. All the Slytherins except Bella refused to congratulate Harry. But his praises from everyone else quickly died away as Professor McGonagall came and took Harry away. No one saw him until dinner that night, during which Harry told everyone he was now the new seeker for Gryffindor's Quidditch team.

"I honestly thought I would have loads of detention," Harry told his table along with Jared and Dustin at the Ravenclaw table next to the Gryffindor table.

"It was still stupid and dangerous," Hermione commented as she focused on her dinner.

Everyone ignored Hermione's comment and continued talking excitedly with Harry about the upcoming match between Gryffindor and Slytherin after Halloween. Twenty minutes later, while everyone was still talking about Quidditch, a lone first year Slytherin girl walked over to the Gryffindor table as she headed out of the hall.

"Congrats Harry," Bella told him with a smile. "Um, I thought this might help you out," Bella added shyly as she handed him her copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

"Oh, thanks Bell. See you in class?" Harry asked as Bella began nervously edging away from Harry.

"Um, yah, see you later," she answered as she all but fled from the great hall.

"What's up with her?" Harry asked Ron. Ron shrugged his shoulders while Hermione just shook her head.

"Honestly Harry, you're so clueless," she stated as she left the table and headed to the library to do her History of Magic Essay.


	12. Chapter 11: Halloween

Chapter 11: Halloween

The next month and a half passed in a blur for all the new students. Between practicing their Transfiguration spells to making sure they had all the correct potions ingredients, most of the students were panicking about the work load.

The day of Halloween was the first time any first years in Charms got to use practical magic. That class also happened to be full of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Professor Flitwick gave them each a feather and went over the incantation and the wand movement they had all been practicing for the last week.

"Now remember, it is swish and flick, as you say the incantation," Professor Flitwick reiterated in his squeaky voice. "Never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." He chuckled before he continued with the incantation. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Soon the classroom was full of half said incantations and improper wand techniques. Ron even went so far as to start chopping the air over his feather with is wand.

"Stop, stop, you're going to take someone's eye out," Hermione reprimanded him. "And besides, you're saying it wrong. It's Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa. You need to make the 'gar' nice and long."

"Well if you're so good, why don't you do it then?" Ron retorted as he gave her a sour look.

"Fine," Hermione replied. Pointing her wand at the limp feather, Hermione easily said the incantation correctly. Her feather began to rise seemingly of its own accord while everyone else watched in amazement.

"Well done, Miss Granger! Well done!" Professor Flitwick congratulated Hermione as Ron merely rolled his eyes and took on an even sourer look.

The rest of the class managed to get their feathers to move before class ended for the day, Dustin's being the one that moved the most. On his way to History of Magic with Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor boys, Ron berated Hermione behind her back.

"She thinks she a real know-it-all, doesn't she?" Ron seethed. "It's no wonder she hasn't got any real friends."

As Ron said this, a bushy haired girl in Gryffindor colors shouldered him as she walked by at a brisk pace.

"I think she heard you Ron," Harry said to Ron as they reached Professor Binns' classroom for History of Magic.

For the rest of the day, Ron tried to apologize to Hermione but whenever she saw him coming to talk to her, she would disappear from his sight.

By dinner time, Ron still had not found Hermione. He took his normal seat at the Gryffindor table, hoping Hermione would be there too.

"Have you guys seen Hermione?" he asked Lavender and Pavarti.

"She's been in the girl's lavatory crying since lunch," Pavarti answered Ron. "You really hurt her feelings Ron."

Before Ron could answer, Bella came up behind him and punched him in the arm.

"Why'd you say that stuff about Hermione?" Bella questioned him threateningly.

Ron paled before the angry Slytherin. "I was angry. I didn't mean for her to hear," he stammered.

As Bella was about to hit him again, a cold hand grabbed her wrist.

"I think that is quite enough, Miss Darling," Snape said as he pulled her away from the Gryffindor table. "While it pains me to do this, you have just lost ten points from Slytherin, both by myself and Professor McGonagall."

Snape took Bella outside the great hall through another door on the side of the hall. On the way to the door, he had also grabbed Davidella Jones, the fifth year Slytherin prefect, and brought her along.

"Have you eaten already?" Snape asked Bella suddenly. She nodded while avoiding his gaze. "Good," he scoffed. Then he turned to Davidella. "Take Miss Darling back to the Slytherin common room. She is not to leave until I have talked to her after the feast." He left without another word, leaving Bella to the mercy of Davidella.

"Come on, firstie," Davidella ordered Bella as she dragged her to the dungeons. Bella went willingly and silently. She knew what she did wasn't right and that she shouldn't have lost her temper

"Are you going back to the feast afterwards?" Bella asked her chaperone hesitantly.

"Yes," she answered shortly. A minute later, as they neared the cellar that hid their common room entrance, she commented on Bella's hitting skills.

"Um, thank you," Bella replied, feeling worse for hitting Ron.

"Not that it matters, but why did you hit the Gryffindor?" she asked, actually curious about what had caused such a cool headed Slytherin first year to snap.

"He made my friend cry," Bella answered even quieter than she had before.

Davidella was stunned. It wasn't everyday you heard of a Slytherin first year, heck any Slytherin really, fighting because someone got hurt. Usually it was the Slytherins that caused the hurt and were the target of retaliation.

"That's... a good reason," Davidella finally said as they entered the common room. Bella moved towards her dormitory but was held back by a strong hand on her shoulder.

"If you tell Professor Snape exactly what you told me, I don't think he'll be as hard on you. McGonagall too; she always likes students that stand up for their friends," Davidella added with a smile.

Bella nodded while looking at her feet. "Thank you, Miss Jones."

Davidella was once again stunned. Normally, first years were disrespectful when they were in trouble, but this girl, this angry-in-a-minute-and-then-solemn-the-next girl, was completely respectful.

"You can call me Davidella," she said as she squeezed Bella shoulder.

Bella smiled slightly. "You can call me Bella," she replied quietly.

Davidella pushed Bella towards the first years' dormitory. "I'm going back to the feast. Professor Snape should be here soon. Good night Bella," she finished as she left the common room and Bella alone.

Bella ran into her dormitory and threw herself on her bed. She was ecstatic and scared at the same time. She was ecstatic because she had finally made a friend within her own house. She was scared because she still had to deal with Professor Snape. She waited about ten minutes before she heard the common room begin filling with students.

Figuring the feast was over, and that Professor Snape would be there soon, Bella headed back to the common room but when she reached it, there was no sign of Professor Snape and it looked like every single Slytherin student was there, even though it was only eight thirty.

As Bella moved through the crowd trying to find a prefect, preferably Davidella, she heard people giving her praise for standing up to the blood-traitor Gryffindor, whatever that meant. Bella finally found Davidella warding the entrance to the common room with Marcus Flint, one of the sixth year prefects.

"Um, Miss Jones, what's going on?" Bella asked the fifth year, knowing Davidella wouldn't want other people to hear a first year call her by her first name.

"There's a troll in the castle," Davidella answered once she had finished adding her wards to the entrance and the head girl took her place. "No one knows how it got in, but they said it was down here, in the dungeons," she continued. "The teachers are looking for it but everyone at the feast was sent back to their common rooms." Davidella looked at Bella sneakily. "I don't think Professor Snape will be able to talk to you tonight," she added quietly so that only Bella heard.

Bella smiled at Davidella's thought but she also worried. Most full grown wizards still had quite a challenge for themselves if they went up against a full grown troll. Knowing Professor Snape was willingly trying to go up against one...

Eventually, all the students disbanded and headed off to their dormitories. Only the prefects stayed, along with Bella and a few of the older students.

"First years are suppose to be in the dormitories," Flint told Bella as he came towards her and Davidella on one of the couches.

Before Bella could answer, Davidella stood up and blocked Flint's path. "Professor Snape wished to speak to her before she went to bed. I don't think you want to anger him anymore than you already do, Marcus," she defended.

Flint quickly backed away and no one else bothered Bella or Davidella. Around ten thirty Bella fell asleep leaning on Davidella's shoulder. It wasn't until eleven that she was awoken.

Snape walked into the common room looking disgruntled to say the least. All the remaining students, besides Bella, fled the room to their respective dormitories. Davidella gave Bella an encouraging smile before she left the room last.

For a few minutes, there was silence; Bella stared at her feet intently while Snape stared at her, trying to figure her out.

"Get over here Darling," he commanded. Bella quickly complied and came to stand right in front of him. "Look at me." Bella looked up into his eyes fearfully.

"Why did you attack Mr. Weasley?"

"He- he made someone cry," Bella whispered looking down at her feet again.

Snape sighed. "Look at me Miss Darling. You only hit Mr. Weasley because he made someone cry?"

Bella cringed at his tone of voice. "Yes sir," she trembled as she looked up again.

Snape rubbed his eyes in exasperation. "While Professor McGonagall may disagree, I am letting you off with a warning. But," he added when he saw Bella's disbelieving face, "if I ever hear of you hitting another student without being provoked, I will not be as forgiving. Understood?"

Bella nodded, unable to speak.

"Good. Now go, it is past your curfew." Bella quickly hurried to her dormitory. When she reached the door and turned around, Professor Snape was still there.

"Thank you Professor," she said hesitantly. "Good night!"

. . . . .

Snape watched as the young and naïve first year went into her dormitory. She had no idea who he was and he had no one to thank for that besides himself.

_I'll tell her when she's safer_, he reasoned with himself. For now she was better off without being the daughter of a defect death eater in Slytherin house, especially while there were still students and parents that supported Voldemort. Snape left without another thought except that he wished he had not scared his own daughter like he had tonight.


	13. Chapter 12: Runaway Misunderstandings

Chapter 12: Runaway Misunderstandings

The next day was the first Quidditch match of the year. Most everyone in the school was excited for it because it was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, the most rivaled houses in Hogwarts.

Bella had decided early on that she wasn't able to go to the match because of her conflict of interest. Before she entered the great hall that morning, Professor McGonagall pulled her off to the side.

"Miss Darling, your head of house has just informed me that he let you off with a warning. Is that true?" she asked in an even tone.

Bella nodded her head. "Yes ma'am," she answered quietly.

From her eyes, anyone could tell that McGonagall was ready to hex Snape into oblivion, but from her face you could tell nothing. "Did he say why he let you off?"

Bella shook her head. "No ma'am, but he did say I would be in loads of trouble if I ever did anything out of line again," Bella answered trying to make her favorite teacher sound just as mean as everyone thought he was.

McGonagall now looked ready to throttle Snape instead of hexing him. "While your head of house may not have punished you, I am assigning you detention with me before dinner every day for a week. And you will not be able to attend the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin this morning. Do you understand?"

"Yes Professor. Can I tell you why I hit Ron?" Bella asked.

"Yes."

Bella sighed. "While it was no excuse to hit him, he made Hermione cry. I just lost my temper and wasn't thinking. I would like to apologize to Ron when he comes down too," Bella added.

Professor McGonagall was taken aback. Normally a student would say anything to get out of her detentions, but Bella sounded sincere. And then to hear that Bella, a first year Slytherin, wanted to apologize for her actions? McGonagall had known she was different from her peers but not that different.

"Professor?" Bella prompted. McGonagall snapped out of her thoughts quickly.

"Were you going to go to the match?" she asked.

Now it was Bella's turn to look taken aback. "Actually, no. It doesn't seem right for me to go when almost all my friends would be cheering for Gryffindor, especially since I'd rather be cheering with them," Bella responded in an embarrassed tone. Her reason had sound much better in her head, but out loud it sounded childish to her. "Are you going to make me go for punishment?" she asked fearfully hesitant.

McGonagall actually smiled a bit at Bella's fear. "No, I think your detentions will suffice. Now off you go, you must be hungry," she answered Bella while directing her to the Slytherin table. "And don't forget your detention tonight," she added.

Bella smiled. "Yes Professor. Thanks!"

As Bella sat at her house table, she noticed the entire Quidditch team was there this morning. Normally no one else would be up this early except Bella.

"And remember," Marcus Flint, the team captain was telling his team in a hushed tone, "we'll win no matter what. And don't let Hooch see," he added quickly.

The team finally noticed Bella sitting near them and hushed up after Flint had finished. Everyone ate in silence but as soon as Bella left the table to wish her friends good luck, they began speaking again.

Bella headed over to the Gryffindor table as Ron, Hermione, and Harry sat down. When she neared the table, Ron tried to hide behind Hermione.

Bella stepped right up to Ron and out of the corner of her eye, saw Professor Snape tense up at the teacher's table.

"Ron, it's okay, I'm not gonna hit you," Bella began. "I just came to say I'm sorry. I just lost my temper and I really shouldn't have hit you." Bella grabbed Ron in a hug as he stopped trying to hide from her. "I really am sorry," she whispered as she turned a little pink when she noticed Harry and Hermione watching with bewildered expressions.

"I'll explain later Hermione," Bella laughed as Hermione quickly looked away. "And Harry," she started again, this time quieter, "good luck today. Watch out though, I think they're planning something bad. I hope you win," she mumbled so that only the trio could hear her as she turned even redder.

"Aren't you coming today?" Ron asked. Bella shook her head unable to find her voice for a moment. "You've gotta come, even Hermione's going and she doesn't even like Quidditch."

"I can't and I wasn't going to go anyway," Bella started explaining as Hermione motioned for her to sit down. Bella looked around quickly and got a nod from McGonagall. "Alright, Professor McGonagall gave me detention for hitting Ron and she isn't gonna let me go to the match too," Bella said without hesitation. "I wasn't gonna go in the first place though because I'm a Slytherin and I'd rather be cheering for Gryffindor," she finished turning pink again.

All three of the trio's jaws dropped at Bella's confession but they soon began pelting her with question.

"Why would you be cheering for Gryffindor?" Harry was the first to speak.

"But, but, but," Ron tried to speak but Hermione voiced the same comment he was trying to articulate.

"But they're your house team," she stated quietly.

Bella shrugged. "I know but they're all jerks and all my friends, except Davidella, are in other houses," she elaborated. "The only time I'll cheer with them is against Hufflepuff."

Again, all their jaws dropped but the sound of approaching footsteps behind them snapped them all back to reality.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said from behind Harry and Hermione. "I wish you the best of luck today. You'll need it." He finally seemed to notice that Bella was sitting at the Gryffindor table. "Miss Darling, why are you not at your own table?"

"I was just leaving. I wanted to wish my friends good luck as I won't be going to the match today," she answered quietly, wondering how her head of house would react.

Snape merely grimace slightly at the mention of her being friends with the Gryffindors. "I suggest you attend and support your house, Miss Darling," he said pointedly, completely ignoring the trio.

Before he could continue, Bella interrupted him, which earned her a glare that would have scared any other first year. "I've been banned from attending the match by Professor McGonagall in punishment for attacking my friend, but I'll be happy to attend future games and support my _friends_," Bella replied.

Upon realizing how she had just spoken to her favorite teacher and her head of house no less, Bella's hand flew to her mouth and she looked up into the seething black eyes of Professor Snape.

In a barely controlled tone, Snape said, "While I may not be able to contradict Professor McGonagall, I refuse to be spoken to in such a insolent tone by one of my own students," he started in a tone that was ever so slowly rising and drawing the attention of a few Ravenclaws at the next table, namely Jared and Dustin, along with a few teachers at the staff table. "You will have detention with me every evening after dinner for the next two weeks, along with an earlier curfew than your fellow first years," he finished in a loud voice. Bella had started to shake at his hard tone. When he finally turned and began heading towards the doors, she lost it and ran past him and out onto the grounds.

Bella kept running until she found herself right outside of womping distance from the Womping Willow. She sat down and tried not to rip up the grass and scream because she knew she deserved the lecture she had gotten but it had hurt none the less.

She ended up walking around the grounds for the rest of the day, avoiding anyone that was not at the game in the morning and everyone that was outside after the game. She even stayed out past lunch and finally settled down by the lake.

It was nearing dinner time when Bella heard light but rushed footsteps behind her. Bella closed her eyes as she waited for another lecture from someone.

"Miss Darling, what are you doing out here?" It was McGonagall again. As if one lecture from her was not enough.

"I... I don't know," Bella mumbled as she stood up and faced her teacher, ready for another blow to her self esteem.

"You've miss your detention and- Miss Darling what happened to you?" she asked suddenly.

Bella looked up, surprised at the change in McGonagall's line of questioning. "What do you mean Professor?"

McGonagall blinked. "What do I mean? You look like you've been crying and have been outside all day," she answered as she began leading her student back to the castle. "Is this about Mr. Potter?" she asked out of the blue again.

Bella pulled away from her. "How'd you know?" she asked quickly, hoping Harry wasn't anywhere nearby, and completely misunderstanding her teacher.

Professor patted Bella shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry Mr. Potter is fine, just a few scratches and bruises."

Bella stopped so suddenly, she nearly fell over. "What do you mean scratches?" Bella nearly screeched. "Was Harry hurt?"

Now it was McGonagall's turn to look surprised. "Yes Harry was hurt. He fell off his broom at the match," McGonagall enlightened Bella. "What did you think I was talking about?"

Bella began blushing profusely. "Um, um, that, I, um, mean, the match-" Bella tried to cover up the misunderstanding.

McGonagall quickly caught on. She shushed Bella as she began rambling. "I quite understand, Miss Darling. No need to continue talking about Mr. Potter," she smiled at Bella in confidence.

Immediately, Bella turned even redder, if that was even possible. "I, um... okay," she finally managed to get out as they started walking again.

"Back to my first question, what happened to you?" McGonagall started as they entered the entrance hall and stopped off to the side.

Bella looked at her shoes, embarrassed for losing control again. "I, uh, well, uh," Bella stopped and took a deep breath. "I got really mad at Professor Snape and so I ran out, and then I felt really hurt, so I stayed out all day trying to avoid him and other people so I didn't hurt them in any way, and I tried not to cry but I didn't realize it, and now I have to go have detention with Professor Snape after dinner," Bella ended in a rush, close to tears again. "He scared me," Bella whispered.

Professor McGonagall was thunderstruck by what the child had just told her. "Miss Darling, I think we should talk to your head of house about this," she started, but Bella interrupted her loudly.

"No," Bella protested. "I don't want him to know. I can deal with this," she finished quietly.

McGonagall spoke at length. "Alright, but if this happens again, I want you to either come and speak with me or another adult that you trust," McGonagall softly ordered her.

Bella nodded, not willing to let herself speak after her outburst.

"Would you like me to write a note and excuse you from your detention with Professor Snape today?" McGonagall asked.

Bella shook her head no and she looked towards the entrance to the dungeons.

"Dinner shall be starting soon," McGonagall told Bella. "I suggest you eat something," she added kindly.

Bella nodded but as soon as Professor McGonagall disappeared into the great hall, Bella ran down the dungeon's stair case and decided just to wait until her detention started as she didn't want to see Professor Snape until she absolutely had too.


	14. Chapter 13: The Bat of the Dungeons

Chapter 13: The Bat of the Dungeons

Bella waited outside the potions classroom all the way through dinner. When her stomach began to protest at the lack of food, she ignored it and continued waiting for her teacher to come down and start her detention.

"Wonder what he's gonna make me do?" Bella whispered to herself. She began playing with the hem of her robe that had started fraying.

Half an hour later, Bella realized that she had been sitting in a shadow for nearly five minutes. She slowly looked up and met the cold black eyes of her teacher.

"Professor," she greeted him quietly.

Instead of returning her greeting, Snape merely pulled her to her feet and led her into the classroom.

"I trust you brought your homework," he stated as he moved to his own desk, leaving Bella by the door.

Bella opened her mouth to reply but all her thoughts were frozen.

"No? Well then I suggest you start cleaning the cauldrons in the back," he continued without even glancing up. "Get started."

Bella hastened to the back of the classroom and hoped that Snape's mood would improve because he still sounded extremely angry.

Silence reigned in the classroom for nearly an hour. Then Bella's stomach rumbled quite audibly. Bella ignored it and continued scrubbing the cauldrons but Snape rose from his desk and headed to the back of the classroom.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked, startling her.

"Oh, um, at breakfast, sir," Bella answered quietly as she still scrubbed the cauldron in front of her. She stopped when Snape gently took her wrist and led her to one of the desks.

She sat down while he pulled out his wand and made a plate with a sandwich appear in front of her.

"Eat," he ordered her as she looked up at him in question. "I will not have one of my students starving themselves just because they were yelled at."

Bella quickly started eating the peanut butter sandwich and avoided looking at Snape so that he wouldn't see how red she was turning. When Bella had finished her sandwich, she tried to stand up but Snape merely stuck her to her seat with a sticking hex and made a small amount of broccoli appear where the sandwich had been. Bella ate the broccoli without complaint and then tested her seat. She found she could get up, so she went back to the back of the classroom and continued cleaning the cauldrons.

For the next forty minutes, Bella worked nonstop on the cauldrons until they were completely spotless. When all the cauldrons were finally clean, Snape had her prepare ingredients for class on Monday until eight thirty.

Bella was carefully slicing rat tail when Snape once again walked up behind her.

"Very good, Miss Darling," he commented quietly so as not to startle her.

Bella looked up as soon as she had finished with the rat tail and saw a strange look in Snape's eyes. She could not place it and before she could give it anymore thought, it was gone and his eyes were once again guarded.

"I believe your detention is over," he said as he handed her a rag to clean her hands. "Your lights out is at exactly nine o'clock for the next two weeks."

Bella nodded her head as she started to move towards the door but stopped before she had gone two feet.

"Sir, may I leave?" she asked quietly, trying to keep eye contact even though Snape still looked to be in a bad mood.

Snape nodded his consent and moved back to his desk. Bella once again went to the door but paused before she opened it.

"Sir?" she questioned her teacher. When she had his full attention, she began speaking again. "I'm really sorry about how I said what I said this morning but I meant it; I'll only cheer for my friends," Bella said looking down.

In an instant, Snape was in front of her again, but instead of yelling at her as he had done this morning, he gently lifted up her chin and spoke to her in as quiet a voice as she had used.

"Always stand up for your friends, even if no one else will stand with you. And never be ashamed to speak your mind Bella," he whispered as he opened his classroom door and nudged Bella into the corridor. "Nine o'clock Miss Darling." With that said, he closed the door before Bella could say anything.

Bella walked through the dungeon corridors in a daze until she reached the Slytherin common room entrance. Mumbling the password, she walked in and went straight to her shared dormitory. By nine she was already in bed, still pondering what her teacher had said when a thought suddenly struck her.

"He called me Bella."


	15. Chapter 14: Leaving

Chapter 14: Leaving

Classes continued right up until the Christmas Holidays. Bella served out the rest of her detentions but strangely Professor Snape only supervised her two more times; the other she was handed off to Professor Flitwick or Professor Thompson.

Most of the teachers pulled back on the work as the term came to an end but they still assigned homework for the holidays. In every class, Bella and her classmates were assigned an essay and, in the case of potions, brewing a potion.

Bella was finishing her packing the morning after classes ended when she decided to see which of her other friends would be on the train with her.

As Bella walked into the Great Hall pulling her trunk, she noticed Hermione talking to Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table. Hermione had her trunk while Harry and Ron did not and were playing chess.

"Hey," Bella greeted them quietly.

All three of the Gryffindors looked up in surprise. They had hardly seen Bella, even after her detention sentences had ended.

"Hi Bell," Harry and Hermione replied as Ron told one of his chess pieces to take one of Harry's.

"That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed as she, Harry, and Bella looked at the board and realized that Harry's queen was now in ruins.

"That's a wizard's chess," Ron answered. "Hey Bell."

"Hi. So you guys are staying here for the holidays?" Bella asked.

Harry nodded his head as Ron answered for himself. "Change of plans. Mum and Dad decided to visit my brother Charlie in Romania, so I've gotta stay here."

"Well then you can help Harry look in the library for Nicholas Flamel," Hermione said as Harry moved one of his few remaining pawns across the board and into the trap that Ron had set.

"Really, you must have looked in there a dozen times mate," Ron told Harry while he analyzed the chess board. "Checkmate," he proclaimed as he moved his own queen to the pawn and checkmated the king.

"You haven't looked in the restricted section, have you?" Bella wondered aloud as Ron gathered up all the chess pieces and put them away.

Both of the boys looked at her astonished expressions while Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"Of course they wouldn't think of that," Hermione commented as Harry took on a look that told his friends he was planning something. "Well we don't wanna miss the train. See you both after the break. Happy Christmas," she said as turned to leave.

"Bye Ron," Bella said as she hugged him. "Bye Harry," she whispered as she hugged Harry also, turning slightly pink as she did. "Happy Christmas, both of you," she finished as she quickly followed Hermione out the great hall doors and down to the Hogsmeade train station with the other students.

All the students that weren't staying for the holidays were escorted to the train station by three teachers every break. This time it was Professor Thompson, Professor Snape, and as always, Hagrid.

When the students reached the station, Hermione and Bella found Jared and Dustin just as they were putting their luggage on the train.

"We'll save you both seats," Jared said as he climbed on the train behind Dustin. As soon as the girls had their trunks on the train, they went in search of their Ravenclaw friends.

"Miss Darling, if I may have a word?" Snape said as Hermione climbed on the train.

"Sure Professor," Bella answered as Hermione stopped and looked back. "Go ahead. I'll catch up," Bella smiled. The Gryffindor girl turned and left in search of their Ravenclaw friends.

Snape walked a little ways away from the train so that he could talk to Bella without other students over hearing anything.

"Is there something wrong sir?" Bella asked. Snape had been distant around her ever since her detentions with him had ended, which wasn't a bad thing but Bella felt like he was avoiding her on purpose.

Snape shook his head. "There is nothing wrong. I need you to give your mother a letter. It concerns your academics," he stated as he handed her an envelope that looked just like the one she had received from Hogwarts before term started. "Be sure only your mother reads it," he added when Bella started examining it. "The train will be leaving momentarily; I suggest you get on so your mother won't worry." With that Snape nudged Bella in the direction of the train.

Bella nodded as she followed her teacher's directions. "Have a happy Christmas sir," she said as she climbed on the train smiling. "See you next term!"

In response, Snape merely nodded his head as a whistle blew from the front of the carts and the train started to move forward. As it picked up speed, Bella leaned out of a window to wave at Professor Snape one last time before the train turned a bend and the platform was lost from her sight.

. . . . .

As Snape watched the train leave the platform, he couldn't help but let a small smile escape through his emotional mask. Even with him avoiding her company as much as possible during the last few weeks, she still smiled at him and had remained the only student to do so. She was so much like her mother in that respect: completely trusting and infallibly caring.

"Happy Christmas Bella," he whispered into the frigid air as he turned to walk back to the castle with his colleagues.


	16. Chapter 15: The Journey Home

Chapter 15: The Journey Home

"Bell, in here!" Dustin whispered loudly when Bella walked by the compartment he and Jared had saved. Bella gave him a funny look as she came into the compartment and took the seat between Hermione and Neville.

"Dustin, why are you whispering?" Bella whispered back. Dustin shrugged his shoulders with a goofy grin on his face as a reply.

"Why are you whispering?" he shot back in a normal speaking tone.

Now it was Bella's turn to shrug. "Because you were."

"I wasn't whispering, I was shouting really quietly," Dustin shot back.

Jared nodded his head. "It's true," he agreed.

Bella and Hermione both rolled their eyes. "Boys," they said at the same time, as if they had done it before.

Everyone in the compartment spoke very little on the ride home until they were nearly to King's Crossing and they had all changed into their muggle clothing, Hermione's and Bella's matching better than any of the boys.

"So what are you guys doing for the holidays?" Bella asked her friends.

Hermione smiled. "I'm going to see my grandparents for Christmas. I haven't seen them since the summer holiday," she said in a single breathe but before she could continue, Dustin jumped in with his own plans.

"I'm gonna go to Romania with Mum and Dad to see the dragons," he said in a rush. "And _then_, we're going to Scotland to see my dad's parents and siblings and my brother." Dustin's eyes took on a sad longing as he mentioned his brother.

"Dustin, what's wrong?" Bella asked him hesitantly.

Dustin shrugged. "I won't really get to see my brother, not for real anyways. He died when I was six. Potions accident," he elaborated as he gestured to the scars on the left side of his face. "I got these while dad lost his hearing in his right ear. Matty wasn't so lucky," he finished sadly.

Bella stood up and took the seat next to Dustin. She pulled him into a hug as he closed his eyes remembering some long ago memory with his brother.

Jared cleared his throat. "Um, I'm going to America for New Year's. Mother and Father wanna meet some of the pure blooded families there," he changed the subject carefully. "I won't be home until right before school starts again."

Hermione and Neville smiled at Jared's tactics. Soon they were all back to sharing about their holiday plans although Dustin stayed quiet for the rest of the trip home. Neville shared that he was going to a family reunion for Christmas and would be spending New Year's with his grandmother. Bella told everyone that she was staying home with her mother this year because they went to America last year to see her mother's family.

"We switch off every year, ever since I turned four. Normally we go there right before my birthday but next year we'll have to wait until school gets out," Bella told them as they neared London.

"When was your birthday?" Jared and Hermione asked at the same time.

"December 14th, but I wanted to be home to celebrate with Mum, so I didn't say anything," Bella said turning a light shade of pink. Before any of the students could say anything further, the train began slowing down and pulling into King's Crossing. "We're here!" Bella exclaimed as she got to her feet and opened the compartment door as soon as the train had stopped.

"Yah, but where are our parents?" Hermione asked as she looked out the window.

Outside, the platform was empty except for the few students that had already gotten off. Both of the girls took on worried expressions until Jared once again explained something about the wizarding world to them.

"You can't come on the platform unless you have a ticket or you're with someone with a ticket," he said as he and Dustin left through the compartment door. "Come on, I bet your parents are wondering where you are," he told them as he stuck his head back inside.

Within a few minutes, the five friends had left the train and gathered their trunks. They went through the barrier that separated the wizarding world from the muggle world in pairs; Hermione with Neville and Bella with the inseparable duo. On the other side, Bella, Hermione, Dustin, and Neville immediately found their parents while Jared stood looking around for his mother and father.

"You guys, I'd like you to meet my mum," Bella told them as she led everyone over to meet Delilah. "Mum, this is Hermione, Neville, Dustin and Jared," she told her mother happily.

"Nice to meet you," Hermione greeted her as she and her parents shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too," Delilah replied with a kind smile.

"I'm sorry to be rude, but we need to get going," Hermione's father cut in quietly. "We've got a long drive ahead of us." Both of Hermione's parents shook Delilah's hand again.

"Bye Bell," Hermione told Bella as they hugged.

"Bye Hermione, have a good holiday," she returned as Hermione turned to leave with her parents. Soon they were swallowed up by the crowd that was always in King's Crossing.

"We gotta go too," Dustin told Bella as he showed a small smile. "I'll see you three after the holidays right?"

"Definitely," Bella told him as Jared and Neville nodded their heads enthusiastically.

Dustin smiled a little more. "Bye guys. Hey that rhymed!" he called over his shoulder as he left with his parents. Before long, he was lost from sight as he was swallowed up by the crowd too.

"Uh, I'll see you later too Bell," Neville told her as his grandmother and Delilah talked.

"Yah, bye Neville," she answered as she gave him a quick hug. "Have a good holiday," she called after him as he and his grandmother left too.

That only left Jared with Delilah and Bella.

"Did your parents know when to be here?" Delilah asked after a few moments.

"I'm pretty sure they did but- there they are," Jared said as two people that Bella and her mother assumed were his parents came through the crowd with sneers on their faces. Bella immediately took a dislike to them and even her mother could say she didn't like them. Behind them were two older children that Bella remembered seeing at Hogwarts, along with a small girl that was maybe nine years old. They all resembled Jared's parents immensely, just like Jared did.

"There you are," Jared's father stated. "Why are you over here instead of where the gate is?"

"Father, this is the gate," Jared tried to correct his father but he wouldn't listen.

"Come we're already late. Move," he ordered Bella as he strode away from Jared and towards the entrance to King's Crossing. His wife took Jared by the shoulder and started towards the entrance also. Before they disappeared into the crowd, Bella hugged him quickly.

"Bye Jared, have a good holiday," she said smiling sadly at the look on his face. Before he completely disappeared, Jared managed to turn around and wave good bye. Then he was gone and only Bella was left with her mother.

"We should be going too," Delilah told her daughter as she took her hand and started pushing the trolley with her trunk on it towards the entrance. "Besides, I've got a surprise for you when we get home," Delilah whispered as they made it to the car. "Get in, and then we can get going," she told Bella as the young girl broke out in a grin. A minute later they were on the road home, both happy to be back together.


	17. Chapter 16: Coming Home

Chapter 16: Coming Home

The ride home was a silent but comfortable one. Bella busied herself with watching the buildings pass by until they came to a quieter part of town that she knew like the back of her hand. When they passed by Mary's house, Bella saw her best friend putting up Christmas lights with her grandfather.

"Mum, can I go to Mary's house later?" Bella asked as they arrived at their own home. She had been unsuccessful in getting her friend's attention as they had driven by and was now determined to go by to say happy Christmas.

"I think you'll have to wait until tomorrow. We've gotta decorate too," Delilah answered as they headed into the house with Bella's trunk. "Besides, you've gotta call her first," she reminded her daughter.

Bella nodded disappointedly. She had been missing Mary since school started and she hadn't been able to write to her. Now she really wanted to hang out with her best friend and draw some.

"Go unpack and I'll see if I can find your surprise," Delilah told her daughter, cutting into her thoughts.

Bella nodded again as she head down the hall to her room and put away some of her clothing. As she opened her closet to put away her shirts, a black streak jumped out and nearly knocked her down. Bella screamed as the black thing continued on its chosen path and landed on her bed hissing up a storm.

"Bella?" Delilah called as she ran back to her daughter's room.

The scene that she found was not what she expected. On the ground was Bella sitting completely still as the black thing walked around her sniffing every bit of her. When it was satisfied that it knew her, is nuzzled her hand and let out a purr.

Delilah let out a quiet chuckle. "I see you found our friend from the Magical Menagerie," she commented as she came in the room and sat by Bella to pet the half-cat-half-kneazle. "Bella this is Ebony. Ebony, Bella," she introduced the two to each other.

Bella instantly broke out into a grin. "You adopted her?" she asked her mother disbelievingly as she petted the magical familiar.

Delilah nodded. "Yeah, I've been spending some time in Diagon Alley. She just looked so unhappy in that cage when I came to visit each time." Delilah stood up. "I'm going to make dinner. You should finish unpacking and then you can help me, alright?"

Bella nodded as she continued to pet Ebony. After her mother left, Bella also stood up and continued to unpack while Ebony hopped onto her bed and gave herself a bath. Once Bella had finished unpacking, she scratched the black cat's chin and left the room for the kitchen.

"Mum, one of my professors wanted me to give you this," Bella told her mother as she set the envelope Professor Snape had given her on the dining room table.

"What is it?" Delilah asked Bella as she pulled out the milk to put in the gravy.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "He said only you're suppose to read it so I didn't open it," she answered as she stirred the gravy her mother had left to put away the milk.

_Hm, I wonder what he wants to tell me,_ Delilah thought to herself.

Soon dinner was finished and Bella and her mother were sitting at the table, enjoying the warm, home cooked meal. Afterwards, they played a game of gin and then they just relaxed for a while couch, Ebony between them, while Delilah read from a book. After a while, Bella started to nod her head and her eyes would drift shut before snapping open again.

"Come on Bella, it's time for bed," Delilah told her half-asleep daughter as she marked their place in the book. She placed the book on the table and then led Bella back to her room. She helped her change into her pajamas and then tucked her in.

"Night Mum, I love you," Bella mumbled as she fell asleep.

"Good night sweetheart," Delilah whispered as she gently kissed her forehead. As she went to the door, Ebony came in and looked at her in question.

"You sleeping in here tonight?" she asked the black cat in a hushed voice. The cat took that as permission to spend some of the night in the room so she jumped on Bella's bed and snuggled up to the young girl's side. Delilah smiled as the cat began purring quietly.

"Good night girls," she whispered as she left the room.


	18. Chapter 17: A Day Out

Chapter 17: A Day Out

Bella awoke the next morning to a black cat mewing and pawing at her shoulder. Bella smiled at her familiar's antics and petted the now purring cat.

"Good morning Ebony," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

Ebony jumped off the bed and made her way to the door. She stopped as if she wanted Bella to follow so the girl left her warm bed and made her way to the door too. Ebony led her human out to the kitchen where Delilah was making what smelled like honey almond pancakes.

When Ebony meowed in greeting, Delilah smiled and turned off the burner as she slid the last pancake onto a plate.

"Morning sleepy head," she said when she set the two plates of pancakes on the table, one in front of Bella and one in front of her seat. "Juice or milk?"

"Morning Mum, milk please," Bella answered as she started cutting up her pancakes. From the floor, Ebony meowed. "I think Ebony wants some milk too," Bella giggled.

Delilah pulled out two cups and a small bowl from one of the cupboards. She placed the bowl on the floor with a small helping of milk in it for Ebony while she poured herself and Bella some in the cups.

"So what should we do today?" Delilah asked her daughter as they ate their breakfast.

Bella shrugged. "I'd like to go see Mary and her grandpa today," she answered while she pushed around her last few bites of pancake.

Delilah smiled. "You missed her a lot, didn't you?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah. It was weird not seeing her in class and we missed the first snow this year," Bella answered.

Delilah stood up and took the plates to the kitchen. "How about this. You go get ready for a day out while I call over to Mr. Stanton's house to see if you can hang out with Mary today," Delilah told her.

Bella nodded her head eagerly. "Okay," she replied as she raced back to her bedroom.

Delilah chuckled at her daughter's haste. She didn't even know what she had planned for her today. She called over to the Stanton's house and quickly set up a time for Bella to come by. When she finished this and cleared the table, she noticed the envelope Bella had left on it the night before. She picked it up and saw that it was addressed to her. Opening it she found two letters: one was sealed with a crest that wasn't the Hogwarts crest and the other looked more like a note. There was also a small blanket that looked as if were to go in a doll house.

"Odd," Delilah commented aloud.

She opened the note first.

_Ms. Darling,_

_ I am Professor Severus Snape. Your daughter has shown a special aptitude for potions and I would like your permission to teach her advanced brewing and storing techniques that I would normally only allow my third years to begin learning. Please send an owl to the Hogwarts' Dungeons with your reply._

_ I have also enclosed a blanket that I would like you to give your daughter for Christmas once it has been returned to its original size. It has been charmed so that the wearer will never be cold._

_ Lastly, I have enclosed a letter addressed to you. Please wait to read it until Christmas Eve night as it is important that you do so._

_Severus Snape_

_Hogwarts Potions Master_

"Mum?" Bella called from her bedroom. "Have you seen my brushes and canvas?

Delilah put the note back in the envelope along with the blanket and her letter. She went to Bella's room and found her trying to look on the top shelf of her closet.

"Bells, you used the last of your canvas for Nana's birthday present over the summer," Delilah told her daughter as she came and helped her look for her brushes.

"Oh yeah," Bella suddenly exclaimed. She ran from the room to the bathroom. "I left them under the sink..." she informed her mother as she followed her into the bathroom.

"Why'd you leave them here?"

Bella's head popped out from under the sink with a coffee can full of paint brushes in her hand. "I was washing them and I decided to leave them in here to dry instead of taking them back to my room," she explained.

Delilah shook her head chuckling. "Why are you looking for your art stuff anyway?"

"I want to make my friends each a picture for Christmas presents when we go back to school," Bella told her mother bashfully. "I was gonna enchant them so we could send letters over the holidays."

Her mother smiled as she said, "Alright, we'll go to Diagon Alley today so we can find you the right spell. And how were you planning on charming the pictures if you can't do magic outside of school?" she asked her as they went back to Bella's room to find her paints.

Bella took on a dumb struck look. "I hadn't thought of that," she mumbled. "Will you help me?" she asked Delilah.

Delilah nodded. "Of course I'll help. Now go get your shoes on so we can go," she told Bella while she left the room.

In the living room was Ebony cleaning her paws. She mewed when Delilah took the envelope from the table and put it on the shelf next to the tree.

"Do you wanna spend the day outside or inside?" Delilah asked the familiar. "Bella and I are gonna be out all day."

Ebony merely went back to cleaning her paws while Delilah shrugged. Not a moment later, Bella came out of her room with a coat and scarf on and her sneakers on but untied. Bella sat down on the ground when she finally noticed this fact and tied them up quickly.

"Ready," she stated to her mother while Delilah grabbed her own coat off the back of the couch.

They both headed out the door and to the car. They drove into London and found their way to the street the Leaky Cauldron was located on. They left the car a couple blocks away and walked the rest of the way to their destination.

With a few well practiced movements in the back of the inn/pub, the two were soon in Diagon Alley. There were Christmas decorations everywhere. No matter where you looked, you could at the very least catch a glimpse of green and red put together or of trees covered in glass orbs. A few of them even had orbs made completely out of light.

"Come on, Bells," Delilah softly told her daughter after giving her a moment to take it all in. They made their way back to the same book shop they had visited their first time to see if there were books on how to enchant paintings.

"Ah, back again Ms. Darling," the clerk behind the counter called over the small crowd in the store. The store was busy today, much busier than when Bella had been here before school started.

"Did we come at a bad time, Stephen?" Delilah asked the young man.

Stephen shook his head as he rang up the order for the witch in front of him. "Not at all. I've always got time for my most interesting customer," he answered flashing Delilah a friendly smile. "Just wait about five minutes and then I can help you out. No, we don't carry muggle cook books," he told the wizard in front of him.

Delilah and Bella roamed around the shop and eventually ended up in the less crowded back of the store. Stephen finally managed to get on his "break" and found them looking through some of the few children's books that were hidden back there.

"So what can I do for you today?" he asked the two of them.

Over the past few months, Delilah had visited the shop numerous times along with the Magical Menagerie. She had become quick friends with Stephen after a few visits.

"Actually, Bella would like a book but we don't know what it is," she answered as she nudged her daughter forward slightly.

"And what type of book would this be?" he asked Bella.

Bella cleared her throat. Why did she always get so shy around other people? "Um, a book that could, uh, help make paintings move," she answered so quietly that if they had been in the front of the store, Stephen would not have heard her.

Stephen smiled at her bashfulness. "I think I've got a good book for that. You a painter Bella?" he inquired as he turned around and started searching the shelves behind him.

"A little," she replied trying to hide her reddening cheeks.

After a few minutes of scrambling around on the railing ladder and searching through nearly all the books, Stephen finally pulled out a red, leather bound book.

"Ah ha! _Practical Charms for the Beginning Artist_ by Alleka Azgal. I think this will suit your projects quite well," he told Bella as he handed her the book. "Will that be all or do you need something else?"

A thought suddenly came to Bella. She instantly tugged on her mother's arm.

"Yes, Bella?"

"I forgot about Mary's Christmas present," she told her in a whisper. "Can I get her a story book?"

Delilah thought a moment. There was not any real harm that she could see in giving Mary a wizarding story book. After all, it was still just a story book; the stories would just have more magic.

"Alright go and find one. I have to talk to Stephen about something," she answered Bella. Bella scampered off with a smile on her face as Stephen looked at Delilah puzzled.

"What do you need?" he asked again.

"I actually need to find two books for Bella. One as a late birthday present and another for Christmas," she told him quietly in case Bella came back unexpectedly. "She liked reading about werewolves, so I think she'd enjoy something to do with them."

Stephen smiled. "That's it? I thought you were gonna ask for something really difficult," he joked as he led her down the shelves. He started pulling books from the shelves only to put them back before moving on. "I know we've gotta copy here somewhere..." he trailed off as he climbed a ladder to the higher shelves. He jumped back down grasping a book that looked far older than most of the books in the shop. "Got it. _Lycanthropy: A Short Reading_ by Aiden E. Song. This'll be the only book on werewolves; not many people prefer to read about them," Stephen explained.

"It's perfect," Delilah thanked him as she gently took the book from his hands. "Do you have any thoughts for a book for Christmas then?"

Stephen pretended to think. "I believe I've got something. Stay here, I'll be right back," he told her as he rushed off to find whatever book he was looking for.

Delilah stayed exactly where she was. At the end of the aisle she saw a puzzled Bella looking for something, or someone.

"Bella!" she called to the girl. "Over here."

Bella flashed a happy smile at finally finding her mother. She ran over to her just as Stephen came back with the book he was looking for. He immediately noticed Bella and nonchalantly placed the book on the shelf as if it belonged there.

"Look Mum," Bella exclaimed. "I found two books all about the fairytales of the wizarding world. I bet Mary will love them, if I can get them both?" she ended in a pleading tone.

Delilah smiled at Bella eagerness but didn't give in this time. "How about you pick the one you think she'll like better for Christmas and we'll come back for the other one for her birthday in March," Delilah compromised.

Bella nodded her head, happy to be getting at least one book for her best friend. "Okay."

It didn't take long for Stephen to ring up the two books and put the other story book on hold for a later date. He discreetly winked at Delilah to tell her that he would also save the book for Bella's Christmas present. She gave him a thankful smile as she and Bella left the shop.

They wondered around Diagon Alley until nearly lunch time, visiting almost every store. For lunch they went back to the Leaky Cauldron and tried their Pea Soup. Thankfully neither Bella nor Delilah were too hungry.

After they left the wizarding pub behind for the busy muggle street, they looked in a few shops and even found one that sold art supplies. After a while they made their way back to the car and towards home.


	19. Chapter 18: Sisters Through and Through

Chapter 18: Sisters, Through and Through

The drive home was just as short as the drive into the city had been. When they neared their neighborhood, Delilah passed their street and turned down another familiar street.

"Are we going to Mary's, Mum?" Bella asked excitedly.

Delilah nodded as they pulled up next to the small house they passed by the day before.

"I'm gonna go home, alright? I have to do some things before you get home. You can bring Mary by, as long as her grandpa says it's okay."

"Okay Mum," Bella said as she hugged her over the console. "See you later!" She was out of the car and running up to the house before Delilah even had the doors locked again. She waited a few moments after ringing the door bell on the door step before the door was opened and there stood a light haired girl only a little younger than Bella.

"Bella!" Mary exclaimed as she tackled her best friend in a hug. "Come on in," she told her as she dragged her inside. Bella managed to wave good bye to her mother before shutting the door behind her. Delilah drove home smiling at the girls' behavior.

Inside the house, Mary was questioning Bella all about her new school.

"So how was your school? Is it weird living there? Why didn't you write? How long do you get to stay?" she got out in a single breath. Before she could continue, Bella grabbed her in another hug.

"I missed you lots and lots," the raven haired girl said as she pulled back.

Mary smiled. "I missed you lots and lots too. Come on, I wanna show what I did to my room with Gramps," she said as she took her friend up the stairs.

On the second floor were two rooms. The smaller one was used for an office for Mary's grandpa while Mary had the bedroom to herself. Inside there was a loft bed with a desk under it and posters all over the orange painted walls.

"Wow," Bella said as they came into the room. On the other side of the room was a dresser with stuffed animals on top of it and above that was a shelf with books stacked precariously on it.

"Gramps says we can build a new bookshelf over spring break when its warmer out. He also says I've got too many books but I think he's joking," she laughed as she climbed up into the bed. "When I went digging in the garage, I found Dad's old radio," she told Bella as she showed her a rectangular box with dials and a speaker on it. "Billy down the street helped me fix it," she told Bella bashfully as she came down the ladder.

Bella smiled. "You mean "Silly" Billy Bartleby from school?" she asked slyly.

Mary stuck out her tongue. She had liked Billy since they were all in primary school together and now she was pretty sure he was starting to notice.

"That's really cool Mary," Bella conceded after a moment of silence. "Does it work?"

Mary nodded. "It sure does," she said as she flipped a switch and turned one dials. Immediately the static that started up when the radio was switched on disappeared and was replaced by the gentle lulling sounds of an orchestra.

"Awesome," Bella told her friends as she kept changing the frequency until they came across some Queen.

"Girls, are you upstairs?" Mary's grandpa called from downstairs.

"Yes Gramps!" Mary answered. She grabbed Bella's hand and they went back downstairs. "Gramps, can we go outside and play in the snow?" she asked her grandpa with a puppy dog look on her face.

Mr. Stanton merely nodded with a smile on his face. "Go ahead but don't leave the yard," he told them as they rushed out of the kitchen and to the front door.

Within in minutes they were both in the yard building a snowman to rival their past year's one.

"So how is your school?" Mary asked as they finished on the subject about Quentin Sterling and his gang of bullies.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "It's not horrid but it's definitely not Devonshire. I miss Ms. Jo too."

"Yah, but anyone would miss Ms. Jo, she's the best. Besides, you get to spend months away in the country side," Mary continued. "What's the school like?"

Bella smiled as she began describing the castle. "It's huge and there's this lake really close by so when it's warmer we can swim. But we're not allowed to go in the forest because of the Dark creatures."

"Dark creatures? Sounds superstitious if you ask me," Mary commented as they made a face for their snowman. They both stood back to admire their handiwork. "I'll get Gramps' camera," she said as she ran back inside the house.

This gave Bella a few minutes to think about what she wanted to tell Mary. _She won't believe me,_ part of her mind told her. _But she might if I show her,_ the other side of her mind defended her.

"Got it!" Mary cried. "But Gramps said only two pictures; one for you and one for me."

Bella nodded as she moved away from the snowman.

"No, get in the picture. I want you in mine," Mary told her as she got the camera ready to take the photo. Bella moved back next to the snowman and put on her most honest smile.

"Now it's your turn." Mary handed the camera to Bella. "Do you want me in it?"

Bella nodded enthusiastically. Mary took her place beside the snowman and made bunny ears for it. Bella took the picture just as Mary started to laugh.

"Let's go back inside, it's a little chilly," Bella suggested as she gave Mary back the camera.

"Okay. Maybe Gramps will make us some hot chocolate," Mary answered as they both went into the house.

When they came inside they found Mary's grandpa already putting a kettle on to boil.

"Thought you two would be cold after being out for so long," he told them with a knowing smile. He pulled out two cups and broke pieces of chocolate into them. While they waited for the milk to boil, the girls ran up to Mary's room again.

"So you still haven't answered my questions," Mary said as Bella looked at the books that had nearly doubled since she had been there in August.

Bella turned around to her friend. "What didn't I answer?" she asked, knowing where the conversation was eventually going to go.

"Why didn't you write?" Mary asked a little sadly.

Bella came over and leaned against Mary desk. "I wanted to but you probably would've thought seeing an owl was a little weird, especially if it gave you a letter," Bella answered.

"I'm serious," Mary replied indignantly.

"And so am I," Bella countered. "That's the only way we can send letters at Hogwarts."

"Well that's a little stupid, isn't it? How do you even know the dumb animals even get to where they're going?"

"Owls aren't dumb! They are amazingly intelligent and absolutely wonderful familiars," Bella replied getting slightly angry.

"What are you talking about? What's a familiar?" Mary asked back becoming confused at her friends slowly diminishing control. The last time she had seen Bella get angry was when Quentin Sterling had thrown his lunch at them in the second grade and had ended up suspended for punching him in the gut. Twice.

Bella closed her eyes. She knew Professor Snape, not to mention her mother, would be angry if she lost her temper again, especially without a proper reason. She took several deep breaths until she was sure she was in control again.

"A familiar is an animal that agrees to become a companion to a witch or wizard. A lot of my friends from school have owls as their familiars. Mum and I have a cat as our familiar," Bella explained as calmly as she could.

By the end of Bella explanation, Mary was gawking at her. She pinched her arm in hopes of waking up from whatever dream she had fallen into but it didn't help at all.

"Let me get this straight. You're a witch and so's your mum. You have a cat that's a familiar, and you get mail by owls?" Mary questioned Bella slowly.

Bella merely nodded.

Mary opened and closed her mouth a few times. Finally she settled on two questions. "How long have you known?" she asked first.

Bella sighed as she answered. "I've known about Mum since I was little but she never wanted anyone to know," she added at Mary's betrayed look. "I only found out about my magic at the end of June and my teacher said I wasn't allowed to tell normal people about magic."

Mary nodded acceptingly. "Can you prove it? That you're a witch, I mean."

Bella bit her lip. "Well, I can't do magic yet cause I'm not of age but I think I'm allowed to show you my school books," she said at length. "Do you wanna go to my house after hot chocolate?" she asked tentatively.

Mary thought a moment. "Yeah," she said. She gave Bella a hesitant smile and then headed to the door. "Gramps is probably wondering why we didn't come back down," she told Bella as she motioned for her to follow.

The girls left the room, closer than when they went in.

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><p><strong>Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter is late but I got caught up in the holiday stuff with my family that I don't get to see very often and just didn't get a chance to post on Saturday or yesterday. So happymerry beladed Christmas/Hannakah/Kwanza/holidays. See you guys next week, hopefully. And I'm only publishing one chapter a week from now on. Night everyone.**


	20. Chapter 19: Remembering

**AN:**_ Warning: possible out of characterness and some minor violence._

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><p>Chapter 19: Remembering<p>

It took Bella loaning Mary her school books for a few days but she finally convinced her best friend she was a witch. They spent the remaining days to Christmas at one of their two houses just playing or talking. It was Christmas Eve when Mary left with her Grandpa to see her father in Ireland.

On Christmas Eve night Bella fell asleep early and Delilah put her to bed and gently tucked her in with a soft kiss like she had the first night Bella had come home. Ebony jumped on the bed afterwards and snuggled up to the young girl, content with her chosen family. Delilah left them and went back out to the family room.

The day after Bella had told Mary she was a witch, they had decorated the whole house with Christmas colors. Hung on all the walls was a long chain of homemade rings of green, red, and silver, charmed to glow when the lights were turned off. They gave the whole room an almost eerie feeling but it wasn't unpleasant.

"Like a warmer common room," Bella had said when Delilah mentioned it.

As Delilah got to work on taking out the presents her relatives had sent her and Bella that year and resizing them so they were normal again, she stumbled on the letter Bella had brought home from Hogwarts. She left it where it was until she had finished with the rest of the presents.

Taking it down from the shelf, she took out the charmed blanket. When she resized it, just as the note had told her, it was large enough to cover Bella's day bed twice. It had a beautiful swirling pattern of greens and silver that didn't quite hurt her eyes when she looked at it. Once Delilah had wrapped it in some of the left over paper that happened to match the colors, she took out the letter again.

It seemed heavier than it had before, almost as if it was bursting with energy. She carefully broke the seal without tearing the heavy parchment and read the first few lines before she noticed something had fallen out.

_Dear Delilah,_

_After reading this letter, I will be surprised if you let Bella come back to Hogwarts while I still teach here._

_The headmaster and I have laced this letter with as many counter spells as we could find to help you remember what you have been forced to forget about Bella's father. I have also placed similar spells on the scarf he took from you those many years ago. With the combined magic between the headmaster and I, you should remember it all soon._

Delilah stopped reading as she finally noticed the green and silver scarf she had lost before Bella was born. Just looking at it was giving her a head ache for some unknown reason. She picked it up and resized it. It still felt the same as when she had lost it. She put it on and the pain intensified.

"What..." she said before she was forced to bite back a scream as the memories came back.

_She was sitting in a bar, not far from her loft, waiting for her Professor to give her her grades before she left for home for break. Down the counter was a dark haired man that she knew was familiar. When she left the counter and made her way to the door, he followed with a scarf in his hands. Her scarf._

_"Excuse me miss, but I think this belongs to you?" he said to her. He was taller than her by nearly six inches. He held out her scarf to her._

_"My scarf," she whispered as she carefully took it from the man's outstretched hand. "Thank you Mr.?"_

_"Call me Severus," he replied, giving just a hint of a smile._

_"Thank you Severus," she said again as she put on her winter coverings. When she put on her scarf though, the memory became fuzzier but Delilah could still see everything that was happening._

_"Perhaps I should walk you home?" Severus suggested as he pulled on his own coat. Delilah nodded and let him lead her out into the cold and down the street. Now she knew why he knew the way to her loft without asking._

_"My loft's just down this way," she managed to get out through her muddled thoughts. Severus held onto her arm as she stumbled down the road. When they finally reached her building, he also insisted that he help her up the stairs. A few minutes later, they were outside her room._

_"Thank you again Severus," she said as she leaned against her door. He stepped towards her and gently kissed her on her lips. Suddenly, she was overcome with longing. They stood there for a few minutes, just kissing and touching each other's faces. When they finally pulled back, they were both flushed._

_"Would you like to come inside?" Delilah whispered, afraid to break the spell of the kiss even as she relived her memories._

_Severus nodded slowly, almost hesitantly. "Yes," he answered just as quietly as she had asked._

Delilah remembered everything that had happened the night Bella was conceived. She remembered dreaming that there were voices in her apartment; one cold and powerful, the other submissive and ever so slightly over shadowed by sadness. She remembered feeling a warm light around her and then cold as she slipped into a deeper sleep where she heard rustling in her apartment and surprised cursing. Then there was a pop and Delilah was finally able to open her eyes to the present.

She was crying. She hadn't cried since she was a teenager when she broke her arm climbing the tree with her cousins on the farm. Now she wanted answers, no matter if they hurt her. She turned back to the letter.

_Delilah, I want you to know I never meant to hurt you as I did. I had thought you were a muggle but when I saw your wand, I promised to make things right if I survived the War. I never thought we would have a daughter, one that was untainted by the Dark in me._

_A part of me loves you and Bella, even if you will hate me forever. I hope I can continue to teach Bella everything I can. Please let me teach her; don't take her away from me now that I finally found you both._

_Goodbye for now Delilah,_

_Severus_

None of her questions were answered. Absolutely none of them. He, Severus, just expected her to understand what had happened with this short letter? Why hadn't he told her himself, in person?

Delilah stood up quickly. She took her wand and lit a fire in the fire place as she grabbed a flower pot off the mantle. She through some of the floo powder into the grate.

"Severus Snape's quarters! Hogwarts' Dungeons!" she shouted into the fire once it turned green and she had cast a silencing spell around herself so that Bella wouldn't hear her. She stuck her head in and saw the same black haired man from the bar sitting in a chair reading. "You bastard!" she yelled at him as she stepped through the fire.

Severus abruptly dropped his book. He would never admit it, but when he heard those two words from the fire, he was actually startled. And then seeing Delilah, as beautiful as the day he had left her, well, he knew he was in for it.

"Delilah," he started but she cut him off.

She stalked right up to him and waved the letter he had written in his face. "What is this? Why didn't you come and tell me yourself?" she demanded in anger. Severus actually took a small step back. "What did you expect that I would just understand everything from a vague letter? You erased my memories just because you thought I was a muggle! You're nothing but a coward!" she shouted.

While Severus wanted to retaliate, especially when she branded him a coward, he knew he needed to just let her vent. If he tried to stop her, he would most likely end up cursed, hexed, slapped, or any combination of the three. So he let her continue to insult him.

Finally, after five minutes of shouting, Delilah finally stopped as she broke into quiet sobs. Severus hazarded putting a hand to her shoulder to help her to sit but all he got in return was a stinging slap to his face.

"Don't touch me," she whispered. She pulled away from him and refused to meet his eyes.

"Delilah, I didn't want to hurt you," he started but he was cut off again.

"Then why did you?" she snapped harshly.

Severus sighed, much like Bella often did. "My master needed someone to test his power on and he left it to me to find someone. I thought you were a muggle, that you would have absolutely no memory of what happened. It never crossed my mind that you would become pregnant," he ended, walking away from her in case she decided to hit him again.

In the end, she didn't. She just sat down in another chair, too weak to stand any longer. "How long have you known about Bella?" she asked coldly when he turned back around to her.

Severus looked away. He knew he was going to get slapped again soon. "Since she was five. I was going to return your memories then, or at least try, but when I saw her, I left. I couldn't take how you thought of her away. If I had told you who I was-"

"I would have loved her just the same," Delilah cut in. "She's my daughter and I don't care if you're a fucking asshole. It doesn't mean she isn't still the loving young girl she is."

Severus once again stepped back. Her words betrayed what her face didn't; she was pissed and was ready to hurt him if he said anything close to wrong. Before he could speak again, Delilah asked another question.

"Have you told Bella?" she whispered, almost afraid of his answer.

"No. If she were in a different house, maybe but not while she's unable to defend herself." He didn't want to tell her just how dangerous it would be if she was known as his daughter but Delilah wanted to know. "My house, Slytherin, is full of Death Eater children, followers of the Dark Lord, the monster that took away your memories. I have been branded a traitor by many of these families and if they knew Bella was my daughter, they would hurt her and most likely you. I won't let either of you be hurt because of my choices," he promised Delilah.

"So you're not going to tell her?"

"Not until she's older. She'll be safer then." Severus walked towards Delilah and when she didn't shy away he gently put a hand on her shoulder. "I want to be a part of her life, even if she doesn't realize why," he pleaded to her.

Delilah nodded slowly. "She needs a father. She's never had one," she told him. "You can teach her whatever you want, just as long as she doesn't get hurt."

Severus moved back from her as she stood up. He was still a good six inches taller than her, more now since she wasn't wearing any shoes. He wished he could just hold her then and take away her hurt.

"I don't expect you to believe me but I am sorry for what I did," but he should have known she would cut him off yet again.

"Don't be, at least not for all of it," she said quietly. "If you hadn't done what you did, Bella wouldn't have been born. And I do believe you," she added even quieter.

Severus once again settled for placing his hand on her shoulder comfortingly but she shook it off this time.

"I should go," she told him. She was looking towards the fire, looking worn out and tired.

Severus nodded. He grabbed his meager supply of floo powder and handed her some. She went towards the flames and cast it in, mumbling her address clearly but quietly.

"Have a merry Christmas, Severus," she said in farewell as she stepped into the flames and was swept away from his sight.

"Have a happy Christmas too, Delilah," Severus answered to an empty room as the fire died down and turned to smoldering embers once more.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>_ Happy New Year's Eve and/or New Year's Day everyone!_


	21. Chapter 20: Happy Christmas

Chapter 20: Happy Christmas

Delilah arrived back in her own living room. It was barely past midnight.

_The witching hour_, Delilah thought, slipping back into her old school superstitions.

Delilah walked back to her daughter's room and found that she had already kicked off her covers and was curled into a tight ball next to an unmoved Ebony.

_How does that cat manage it_? she thought. Whenever the familiar would sleep with her or Bella, she would remain in the exact same spot, even when they kicked off their blankets and sheets.

Delilah carefully pulled the blankets around her daughter before kissing her forehead again.

"Merry Christmas Bells," she whispered. In response, Bella moved her head a little and smiled at what she saw in her dreams.

. . . . .

Bella awoke early the next morning. The sun hadn't even begun to rise yet. She lied in bed for nearly an hour, waiting for either her mother to wake up or for the sun to rise. This always happened: she'd wake up extremely early on Christmas and then wait for her mother to wake up too. Only once had she slept in on Christmas.

Two year before, she had gotten pneumonia a few days before Christmas. She had almost slept until noon on Christmas but her mother said it was alright. They had spent the entire day on the couch, playing board games and making each other laugh with funny faces. Eventually Bella had drifted back to sleep from exhaustion. She barely remembered her mother carrying her back to her room and letting her sleep away the rest of the day and the following night.

That Christmas was still one of Bella's favorite Christmases, even though she had been sick.

While Bella thought about that Christmas, her door was slowly opened by Delilah. She had barely been able to get any sleep after coming home, but she had managed to sleep for about three hours before it became a lost cause. She had lain awake for a long time before falling into a fitful sleep about the other voice she had heard in her memory. A few minutes ago she had woken up in a cold sweat as the voice materialized into a young man but something had been off about him. He had had cold calculating eyes that betrayed the madness behind his gaze. Delilah had decided sleeping was going to be impossible so she went to see if her daughter was awake early just as she was every year.

"Bells?" she whispered so as not to startle the raven haired girl. Bella immediately sat up and looked towards her mother with a happy grin on her face.

"You're up!" she exclaimed happily. She jumped off her bed and hugged Delilah. "You're up, you're up!"

Delilah managed to smile. "Yes, I'm up. Now, how about we make some breakfast?" she asked.

Bella eagerly nodded her head as she took her mother's hand and started pulling her to the kitchen. They ended up making honey almond pancakes again with hot chocolate and milk for Ebony. Afterwards they turned on the tree and played a game until they could see the sun through the window with ease.

"Okay, present time," Delilah said as they finished their round of gin.

Bella nodded and went to the tree to start handing out the presents.

"Here're the ones from Grandma and Grandpa," she said as she pulled out three presents, all wrapped in matching wrapping paper. "Here're Nana's," she pulled out two misshapen but well wrapped presents, "Auntie Gail's," she pulled out one box with a huge bow on top, "And one from you and one from me," she smiled as she handed her mother her present and she held onto her own.

Delilah looked under the tree from the couch. "What's that one in the back?" she asked her daughter, trying not to smile and ruin the surprise.

Bella looked under the tree and found a green and silver wrapped present. When she pulled it out, it seemed to be warm to the touch, even through the paper. One a small tag in unfamiliar handwriting was her name.

"Mum?" she asked hesitantly. Delilah smiled encouragingly as she began opening her presents.

Bella carefully tore the paper and when it was all finally removed, she was holding a beautiful blanket. It was covered in greens and silvers that swirled around and around, like snow in the movies. It didn't hurt to look at it but it was breath taking.

"Mum, who gave me this?" Bella asked quietly.

Delilah paused in looking at the clothing her aunt had sent her. She looked at Bella. She looked bewildered but happy and Delilah decided she wouldn't tell her yet. She would be safer if she didn't.

"My friend, Martha-Ann, you're god-mother. She sent it. She'd been working on it for a while now and she wanted you to have it," she answered, looking out the window and away from Bella's gaze. The young girl had always been able to tell when she was lying.

But Bella would not have noticed. She was too enthralled with her new blanket to think about her mother's answer too much. "I love it! I absolutely love it!" Bella told Delilah. She carefully placed it on the couch so that she could finish opening her presents. By the end of opening all the presents, both Bella and Delilah had gained new pants and shirts from Delilah's aunt and uncle, who Bella called Grandma and Grandpa, matching, home-stitched teddy bears with personal inscriptions on them from Delilah's mother, Bella's Nana, a new board game that they had never heard of from Delilah's sister, Auntie Gail, and Delilah had received a small painting of a wolf and her pup looking at the moon made by Bella.

The last present to be opened was Bella's gift from her mother. She carefully pulled off the wrapping paper and looked at the book her mother had gotten her. _The Unfair Segregation of Werewolves_ by N. A. Rosenburg. Bella hugged the book and looked at her mother happily.

They spent the rest of the day experimenting with different foods that they found in one of the cookbooks and playing their new board game. When they had cleaned up everything from their day inside, it was nearly ten o'clock at night.

"Mum?" Bella said as Delilah tucked her in.

"Yes?" she answered as she sat on the bed.

Bella traced the pattern on her blanket as she continued her question. "Do you think we could charm the paintings tomorrow?"

Delilah nodded. "I think we should so that we can make sure they work before your friends take them home after school's over."

Bella smiled sleepily. She laid down as Delilah stood and turned out the light.

"Happy Christmas Mum," she said as she slipped into her dreams.

"Merry Christmas Bells," her mother answered as she closed the door.

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><p><strong><em>AN:_ **_Hey everyone. Hope you liked the chapter and I know it's belated and I already said it, but Happy Christmas!_


	22. Chapter 21: Back To School

Chapter 21: Back to School

The rest of the holiday passed by far too quickly for Bella and Delilah. Before they knew it, they were saying good bye on the platform again and Bella was leaving with her friends to return to Hogwarts. She found their compartment rather easily as it was the same compartment they had ridden to London in.

"Hey," Bella greeted her friends as she came in. She stopped half way through the doorway when she noticed an older student, probably a fourth year, sitting between Jared and the door. She realized with a start that he looked particularly similar to her friend.

"Hello," he returned while everyone else gave her a silent nods and smiles. The boy held out his hand to Bella. "You must be Bellatrix."

Bella merely accepted his hand for a moment and then sat between Neville and the door, the only vacant seat in the compartment, and the seat right across from the boy. Before long the train pulled out of the station.

"So Jared tells me that you are all enjoying your first year," the boy said once they had left London behind.

Neville cautiously nodded along with Bella while Hermione jumped right into a conversation with him. They talked for a while about the different classes and how hard they were still.

Dustin had fallen asleep not long after they started talking while Jared rolled his eyes every so often. Neville was trying to keep himself ignored by the imposing boy while Bella openly stared at him.

"I'm sorry, but is there something terribly interesting behind my head?" he suddenly asked her when there was a pause in his conversation with Hermione.

"What's your name?" she replied back.

The boy seemed a bit shocked at this but he quickly covered it up. "That's right; you weren't here when I introduced myself to your friends. I am Liam Recoff, Slytherin fourth year," he answered with a half hidden smirk. He once again held out his hand to Bella but this time she didn't take it.

"Charmed," she answered just slightly cold. "My name is _Bell_ Darling, Hogwarts first year," she continued, putting emphasis on her shortened name.

Liam nodded imperceptivity to let her know he understood what she was trying to say without offending him. He went back to talking to Hermione while Bella decided to talk to Neville for the rest of the train ride.

Halfway through the journey, Jared decided to wake Dustin so he could change into his robes as everyone else was already changed.

"Flashing muzzwumps!" he shouted as he woke from whatever dream he had had. This exclamation set the rest of the students laughing, even Liam. "What? They're vicious," he defended himself while they continued to laugh.

Dustin left in a huff to change into his robes while they calmed down. A moment later there was a loud crashing noise from the hall followed by a pained yell from someone unknown. The next moment found Liam, Bella, and Hermione trying to see who was hurt.

"What happened?" Liam questioned with authority.

In a heap on the ground were Dustin and Draco. Half way out of the compartment behind them was Pansy and behind her were Draco's pet gorilla trolls. Bella and Hermione rushed forward to help Dustin away from a seething Draco.

"That git punched me," Draco accused the Ravenclaw. He immediately took a step back as Dustin struggled to get away from the girls.

"_That_ git called my mother a stupid, filthy muggle! He deserved it!" he fumed as Liam stepped between the two boys to stop another punch, or worse, a curse, from being thrown.

"Take Dustin back to the compartment," Liam ordered them while staring at Draco, willing him to disagree.

As the girls backed away with Dustin, Draco gave them a smirk. "Guess you can't get enough of those muggles, can you? You've always got that mudblood and that squib's daughter around you," he jeered at them.

Before anyone could blink, there was a flash of light and Draco was lying in a heap at the end of the hall. Behind Liam, Bella was gripping her wand and preparing to jinx the Slytherin again.

"My mother is not a squib, you bloody bastard!" she yelled. Before she could harm the blond any more, Liam had her wand and Jared and Neville had come out of the compartment and were holding onto her and Dustin.

"Go back to the compartment, now!" Liam yelled as Dustin started shouting at Draco along with Bella.

After a few minutes and the aid of another first year, the hall was back to normal with Liam making sure Draco was not permanently harmed in his compartment, Neville and Jared calming down Dustin and blocking the door, and Hermione watching Bella as her anger dissipated.

"Bell?" she questioned her when the anger in her eyes was replaced by dread.

Bella's eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh no. He's gonna kill me," she whispered as she put her head in her hands.

"Malfoy? He wouldn't try anything while we're still on the train," Hermione tried to calm her but Bella just shook her head.

"Not Draco; Professor Snape. He said if I ever hit someone again without being hit first, I'd regret it," she told her friend. "I'm gonna have detention until I take my O.W.L.S."

Hermione bit her lip. She knew Snape could be ruthless when one of his snakes was involved, but would he really punish another Slytherin? Hermione settled on a yes. He always favored Malfoy and he would probably still favor him over Bella.

"Maybe he'll understand," she tried once more but Bella just shook her head again.

By this time Dustin had calmed down enough for Jared and Neville to release him. He was rubbing his arm where Jared had had to pinch him to catch his attention when he had tried to go after Draco again.

"If I see him before we get to the castle, he won't know what hit him," he growled. There was a fire in his eyes that refused to leave them even as they arrived at Hogsmeade station.

Neville, Jared, and Hermione kept Dustin and Bella away from Draco as they headed towards the horseless carriages. All anger towards Draco was forgotten as both Neville and Dustin started and stared where a horse would have been.

"Come on you two," Hermione told them as she, Jared, and Bella climbed onto the carriage.

Neville was the first to turn away and climb on the carriage looking considerably paler. Dustin stood a moment longer before following suit.

"They won't see them," Dustin whispered to Neville so that no one else heard him. He shook his head to stop the question Neville was trying to ask as the carriage set off. "I'll explain some other time."

The ride to the castle was shorter than the boat ride had been at the start of term. Before long, they were all seated at their tables. Draco was absent, much to Bella's joy and utter dismay. Once they were allowed to leave the hall, Bella hurried away from the table, hoping to get to her dormitory before Snape could find her.

No such luck. Before she had gone two steps outside of the Great Hall, she was grabbed by her shoulder by a very cold hand. Bella slowly looked up to meet the Potions Master's eyes.

"Sir," she mumbled.

Snape merely glared at her as he dragged her down to the dungeons and to his office. Once they were inside, he cast a silencing charm and warded the door against eaves droppers.

Bella wished herself invisible then. This was worse than it had been before. This time she had hexed another student with next to no reason.

"Ms. Darling," Snape started off dangerously quiet. "I believe that you have not only broken the rules off Hogwarts but you have also broken two of the house rules laid down by myself." His voice was slowly rising but he still wasn't shouting, yet. "You have not only attacked another student while on the train, you hexed him well enough that he will be remaining in the hospital wing for at least tonight and most likely all of tomorrow." Now he was in his normal speaking tone but with a harsher edge to it. "You are extremely lucky that Professor Dumbledore has not involved himself. You could be expelled for what you did to Mr. Malfoy. There could be an inquiry from the Ministry for the misuse of magic. They could snap your wand Bella. Do you not understand this?" he turned as he finished speaking to see Bella looking at her feet as hard as she could.

Bella nodded as she tried not to cry. She would not cry in front of the Professor, not for a reprimanding she rightfully deserved.

"Look at me Ms. Darling and articulate."

Bella slowly looked up and cleared her throat. "I understand, Sir," she whispered. A single tear slid down her cheek but she wiped it away as fast as she could.

Not fast enough. Professor Snape saw this and his face changed for a moment before settling back into his calm mask but the fury in his eyes had died down a bit. He took a step forward but she took an equal step back to match his.

"I believe that extra classes and detentions until the Easter holiday is a sufficient punishment. And I will be supervising all of your detentions to make you understand and follow the rules that the school and I have set down for all students. Now go to your dormitory. I will see you as soon as your classes let out tomorrow here in my office. Good night Ms. Darling."

He led back to the door but before they reached it, Bella mumbled something to him that made him pause.

"What did you say Ms. Darling?" he demanded in a harsh tone.

Bella cleared her throat again. "I'm sorry I let you down Professor," she managed to get out in a thick voice. "I didn't mean to lose my temper, it's just Draco, he called..." she trailed off as she realized she was saying more than she had said before.

"What did Mr. Malfoy say?" Snape pressed her quietly.

Bella closed her eyes as she fought with herself about lying again. "He called my mother a squib and Hermione a mudblood! And before that he called Dustin's mother a filthy, stupid muggle. He... he deserved what Dustin gave him," she ended sadly. While she fully believed Draco deserved the punch Dustin had given him, he hadn't deserved what she had done to him, whatever that had actually been.

Snape was quiet for a moment after Bella's revelation. The Malfoy boy had not mentioned that he had instigated the entire episode between himself, Bella, and her friends. He would have to look into a suitable punishment for him without tipping his hand.

"Thank you for the knowledge Ms. Darling but I suggest you leave before you miss your newly established curfew. It is the same as it was last time," he told her as he led her to the door. "Do not break anymore rules otherwise the headmaster will become involved and I will not be able to protect you then."

Bella walked through the doorway and turned around to look at her Head of House. "Good night Sir," she said a little louder than when she had been speaking in his office.

"Good night Bella," he answered as he shut the door.

Bella made her way to the Slytherin common room without ever realizing he had used her first name again.


	23. Chapter 22: A Late Christmas

Oh my god, can it really be? Yes, it's an update! I'm so sorry that it had been forever and a day but this story just hit a wall for so long and then when the wall finally broke up, this chapter decided to be a pain in the butt about being written. I'm still a little iffy on the chapter but I hope it's okay. Reviews would be greatly appreciated and flames will be happily accepted. Well, maybe not happily but they will definately be warrented.

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><p>Chapter 22: A Late Christmas<p>

Bella carefully stepped out of the dungeons and into one of the shadows that lined the corridors. It was far past her curfew, nearly one in the morning, and she was sneaking off to meet her friends in the Astronomy Tower. Only a week had gone by since term restarted. Malfoy had returned to classes the second day of the semester with only a few unwilling to heal bruises on his face and Bella had served out every one of her detentions without complaint and hardly talking at all.

Bella carefully shifted the wrapped packages under her arm as she started up the grand staircase, being wary of Filch or Mrs. Norris seeing or hearing her. After ten minutes, she finally made it to the top of the Astronomy Tower with all of her packages intact. She looked around for a moment wondering where her friends could be when she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned around barely keeping in a shriek to find a silently laughing Dustin and a disheveled Jared with an annoyed look on his face.

"He enjoys doing that way too much," he told Bella in a whisper. He then offered her a smile as he offered to hold the packages for her. Handing over three of them, the three friends sat to wait for the other four students that had been invited. Barely a minute later Dustin jumped to his feet as a scuffling noise was heard from the stairs.

"That's my foot Neville," Ron's disembodied voice said as a grunt was heard from another boy. "Sorry Harry."

"S'ok," Harry mumbled as the three boys and Hermione appeared out of thin air right in front of Dustin. The Ravenclaw let out a loud, high pitched scream before his mouth was covered by a fast acting Hermione.

"Shh!" she said as everyone listened for footsteps on the staircase. After a few tense minutes Hermione finally took her hand off of Dustin's mouth, allowing him to start questioning them.

"How did you do that? And I don't scream like a girl," he loudly whispered to Jared and Bella as they both started laughing when Jared commented on the pitch of the scream.

In answer, Harry held up a shimmering cloak. "This. Someone sent it to me for Christmas saying it was my father's," he said quietly.

"An invisibility cloak!" Jared exclaimed. "Those are really rare," he continued in a quieter voice. "I've never seen one that worked so well though."

The seven children sat on the ground in a tight circle as Hermione pulled out two jars and cast a flame spell inside them. She set them in the center of the circle so they could have light and some warmth. Bella then passed out the wrapped packages she had brought. Soon six people in the group had a package.

"Well, go on," Bella told them with a shy smile.

The six of them finally ripped open the plain brown paper on each of their gifts. Each of them pulled out a small painting, only a little larger than an average photograph. Hermione was the first to gasp as the objects on her painting began to move.

"Mum charmed them," Bella explained quietly. "I always make something for family and friends when the holidays come around," she continued slowly turning pink. "I thought you guys would like them."

"Bell, these are amazing," Harry told her from where he was sitting beside her. "Thank you so much." He gave her a one armed hug turning a little pink himself while Bella turned full out red. Dustin quickly hugged her with both arms from the other side once Harry let her go, causing the Slytherin to redden even more.

"Thank you Bell!" he whispered loudly once he released her.

Then they started sharing each of their paintings, smiling and staring in wonderment at each. Harry's was painted with the Gryffindor Quidditch stand in the background and his Nimbus 2000 in the center. Flitting around the painting was a blur that was the golden snitch. Jared's looked somewhat similar also focusing on Quidditch and a snitch but with the Ravenclaw colors and a Nimbus floated in the center. Dustin's was also a Quidditch looking painting but his had a Cleansweep in the center with a beater's bat attached to the broom by a length of leather and a bludger flying around almost as fast as the snitch in the other two paintings. Hermione's painting was covered with stacks of books, mostly their textbooks and other books Bella had seen at Whizz Hard Books, with sheets of paper with the Gryffindor crest on them and a periwinkle quill writing different words across the pages before they disappeared.

"Courageous, intelligent, friend..." Hermione quietly read. Bella scooted close to her friend and gave her a hug.

"All of them true," she told the Gryffindor as she scooted back.

Neville's painting had a large prickly plant painted on it. Hiding behind the untouchable plant was a frog that looked suspiciously like Trevor except that he had a collar and leash on that was attached to the base of the plant. Ron's painting had a Poster of the Chuddley Canons in the background and different types of candy that he had introduced to Harry. In all of the paintings sat a tiny sleeping brown owl in the one of the corners as Bella's signature.

The friends stayed in the Astronomy Tower for nearly another hour just talking about whatever they wanted before beginning to yawn and fall asleep. Soon everyone started sneaking back to the dormitories, the four Gryffindors under the invisibility cloak and Dustin, Jared, and Bella towards the Ravenclaw common room. The parted ways at the base of Ravenclaw Tower and Bella continued towards the dungeons. Before she made it to the dungeons however, she ran into the one Professor she really would rather have avoided.

Professor Snape.

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><p>Bella can't stay out of trouble, can she?<p> 


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